Lucky Pretty Cure!
by Exdeathmore
Summary: [Fan-series] Sachiko Yoshimura is a girl with uncanny luck who always tries to help people who are down on theirs. So when her world is chosen by the Greed Empire for a contest to steal everybody's good luck, it's only natural that she would end up getting involved. Is it luck, or is it destiny? Either way, a new Precure legend is about to begin!
1. Cure Lucky is Born!

**Lucky*Pretty Cure!**

 **by Exdeathmore**

* * *

Three figures enter a vast stone hallway, a long red carpet laid out before them. The walls are lined with metal sconces, burning with green flames. Between the sconces were twelve paintings, each depicting a portrait of a different person, with the Roman numerals I through XII etched on plaques beneath them. Despite the lighting, the faces on each portrait were hidden in the shadows, but it could be seen that each individual wore an outfit that was a varying combination of black, white, and green. Behind the three figures, a massive metal gate clanged shut, with a pair of faceless soldiers in pitch-black helmets and armor standing watch over it.

"So, is this the place?" one of the figures asked. It was a man with black hair that curled up and into itself as a pompadour, a pencil-thin mustache, and a pointy beard and nose. He was slim in frame, wearing a polished iron breastplate and sallet over a dull red outfit, with a rapier strapped to his hip. From the looks of it, his attire resembled an old Spanish conquistador. "I was expecting more fanfare for our arrival."

"The decor is certainly lacking," another figure said, a woman with wavy, shoulder-length pale blue hair and fair white skin. She wore a black winged mask, like one would see at a masquerade ball, but her blood red eyes were still visible beneath it. Her black leather outfit - complete with long gloves and knee-high boots - accentuated her curvy figure, exposing her shoulders, cleavage, and thighs. "When I win, I'll be sure to give it a proper makeover," she added with a sly smile.

"So, when do we get to smash stuff?" the third figure grunted. It was a giant of a man, twice the size of the other two, with burly arms and legs, and a round, bulging stomach. He wore a leather vest and fur-lined kilt, and was covered from head to toe in sparkling golden and jeweled accessories: chains, rings, bracelets, and even a golden buckle on his belt. But not even that could conceal his bald head, thick, spiky black beard, hairy knuckles and slightly bronze skin. He lifted up a giant shank of meat clenched tightly in his right hand and took a big bite out of it.

"I see you've finally arrived," came a voice from nowhere. The three people looked ahead to see another door on the far end of the hall swing open, revealing a young man with short, dark green hair, wearing a gray tuxedo with long coat tails, similar to a butler's uniform, and a small gray mask concealing his eyes. He approached the three and bowed before them. "I have been sent by the Greed Emperor to welcome you to-" He suddenly paused, and looked around. "I was told there would be four of you. Where is the fourth competitor?"

"Maybe they're running late," the woman guessed. "Not that I care. That's just makes it easier for the rest of us."

"Hahah!" the first man laughed. "They probably ran off scared after hearing that _I_ was here!" He unsheathed his sword and began swinging it repeatedly through the air then stopped, the hilt close to his chest, blade upright. "I don't blame them. This competition is as good as mine!"

"Regardless," the man in the suit continued, "we will proceed as planned. The Greed Emperor has sent me on his behalf to welcome you three as his esteemed guests. Without further delay, we shall soon begin the Rite of Succession..."

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Luck or Destiny? Cure Lucky is Born!**

"Last spurt, go!" shouted a young girl in a tan blazer and red pleated skirt as she raced down the sidewalk, towards a school at the end of the street. She had short red hair that matched her vivid eyes. As a pair of students, one male and one female, walked past the gate, they paused and saw the girl rushing towards them.

"She's not gonna make it," the male student said. "The bell's gonna ring any second now."

"Don't be so sure," the other student said. "She's made it through worse."

"I... can... make it!" The girl continued down the road when suddenly, a young man carrying a skateboard stepped out into her path from a side alley. "Ahh! Out of the way! Look out!"

"Whoa!" The man was startled, and dropped his skateboard as he jumped back. The girl stepped on the skateboard and was sent cruising even faster down the path. Surprisingly, she was able to keep her balance as she sailed past the school's gate. As she dismounted the skateboard, she kicked it backwards, back through the gate, and towards the man, who had been chasing after her. He scooped up the skateboard as he stared at the girl, still in awe of what just happened.

"Safe!" the girl cried triumphantly, holding her arms in the air and panting heavily, as if she just finished competing in a professional gymnastics match. "Yes! I'm super lucky again! Hee hee!"

"It never fails," the female student giggled as the pair headed inside the school building.

"Today's going to be another lucky day!" The girl had a big smile on her face as she headed inside.

* * *

 _My name is Sachiko Yoshimura. I'm 14 years old, in my second year of middle school, and I have the best luck! Whenever it looks like I'm in trouble, things always end up working out fine in the end, like just now. I always try to help out anyone in need of it, and since I have a habit of being in the right place at just the right time, the other students started thinking of me as a real-life "Lady Luck"._

* * *

Later that day, during a free study period, a male student approached Sachiko as she was sitting at her desk.

"Yoshimura, I need a favor!" the student said, putting his hands together. "Can I borrow your notes from literature? Please, I'm begging you!"

"Sure thing!" Sachiko handed the student a small notebook almost without hesitation. "Here you go!"

"Thanks, Yoshimura! You're a lifesaver!" The male student bowed politely before hurrying out of the classroom. Another student, a glasses-wearing girl who appeared to be the same age as Sachiko with blue eyes and long, dark blue hair, approached her.

"Ah, Nanami!" Sachiko seemed to recognize the girl. The girl named Nanami quietly handed her another notebook. "Hm? What's this?"

"Would it really hurt you to say 'no' once in a while?" Nanami asked her, sighing. "If you keep agreeing to every little request, everyone will just walk all over you. I've already memorized my notes, so you can borrow them for now."

"Really? But he looked like he really needed the help... Oh well, I'm lucky that you're here to help me! Thanks, Nanami!"

"Are you still going on about that? I'm just trying to keep an eye out for you. Luck has nothing to do with it." Nanami shook her head in disapproval. "Honestly, what would you do without me?"

* * *

 _This is my best friend, Nanami Takamoto. We've known each other since elementary school, and have always looked out for each other. She's really smart and nice to me, but doesn't believe in my good luck. But that's okay, we still get along great! Maybe that's my luck at work again!_

* * *

"Eventually, your 'luck' is going to run out," Nanami continued, "and what will you do the next time you get into trouble?"

"It'll be fine," Sachiko said with a smile. "As long as you never give up, luck will always find a way to make things work out in the end!"

"You really are hopeless." Nanami shook her head again. "But I guess I should have expected an answer like that from you by now. Just remember to return those notes when you're done with them." She headed back to her seat as the teacher entered the classroom, ready to resume class.

* * *

Hours later, the final bell rang, marking the end of classes for the day. As Sachiko retrieved her shoes from her locker at the school entrance, Nanami approached her.

"Sachiko," Nanami called out to her. "I'm sorry, but I won't be able to walk home with you today. The student council's been bogged down by extra paperwork lately, and they asked me to lend a hand."

"That's okay," Sachiko said, "I have something to do today, too. I have a lead to follow, so it all works out! Lucky break, huh?" Nanami could only sigh in response.

"What do you mean, 'a lead'?" she then asked.

"Today's horoscope on television! 'Today your luck is... very good!'" Sachiko began quoting the horoscope word for word. "'You will brighten up a lot of people's days, and a once-in-a-lifetime encounter awaits you!'"

"The horoscope? Wait... don't tell me the reason you were almost late today was because you stayed at home to watch it?"

"Guilty! Ehehe..." Sachiko blushed in embarassment. "But it was right so far! I still got here on time, and I did help brighten someone's day by lending them my notes!"

"You never learn." Nanami sighed again. "I'll see you later, then. Let me know how that 'special encounter' works out for you." The two girls waved to each other as they headed off in opposite directions.

* * *

The city's central park was a wide open area, decorated with trees, flower beds, and other greenery, divided into four areas by stone pathways, overlooking a nearby river that ran through the city. In the center of the park was a large gazebo, and not far from it, a stone sculpture of the man who built the park. All around, people were enjoying themselves: children ran around on the open grass, couples admired at the colorful flowers, and others relaxed in the shade of the gazebo. Just then, the armored swordsman from before appeared and walked towards the statue, carrying a large red flag, with a fancy letter 'C' emblazoned on it. He stopped just in front of the statue and cleared his throat.

"Attention, peasants!" he shouted. "I hereby claim your city in the name of... me! The mighty Coveton!" He planted the flag into the ground behind him as he stood tall and proud. The nearby people continued about their business, glancing at the man as they passed him.

"Who is that?" a young man whispered.

"Mommy, look at the funny man!" a little boy shouted, pointing at Coveton.

"Shh!" The boy's mother nudged her child along, quickly walking away from him.

"Is there a circus in town today?" one woman asked as she and her boyfriend passed, glancing at Coveton.

"Dunno..." the man shrugged.

"That's right, the mighty Coveton!" He continued his monologue. "Master swordsman, slayer of beasts, conquerer of-" He paused and looked around, noticing everyone either ignoring or avoiding him. "Hey! Pay attention! I'm trying to give my speech of conquest here!" The passers-by stopped for a moment, giving him odd looks, then continued on their way. "Grr... in that case...!" Coveton held out his right hand, palm upward, and a white cube appeared, hovering above it. The cube was about the size of his palm, and on one side was a red 凶 symbol.

"This will get your attention!" he said. "Your luck has run out! Come out, Kyoujin!" He lifted the cube into the air. Arcs of black electricity shot out of it and struck the nearby statue, enveloping it in a dome of black light. The dome burst open, and the statue transformed into giant humanoid monster, several times the size of a human being, with a body that looked like it was made out of white bricks. In place of its head was an enlarged version of the cube, the symbol acting as its face.

" _Kyoouujiiin!_ " the monster roared, raising its fists in the air.

"Monster!" one of the nearby bystanders screamed, pointing at the creature.

"Run!" another bystander shouted as the people scattered in all directions.

"You won't escape me!" Coveton said as he unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the fleeing crowds. "Kyoujin! Steal all of their Fortune Energy!"

" _Kyoujin!_ " The monster's face glowed brightly as it emitted waves of dark energy from it, sweeping across the park and over the terrified people. Almost immediately, the people fell to their hands and knees, weeping and moaning. As they did, small globes of golden light appeared from their bodies, floating towards the Kyojin.

"Hahahah!" Coveton laughed triumphantly. As the globes of light entered the Kyoujin's body, the cube Coveton held began glowing faintly with the same golden light. "It's just like he said. The more Fortune Energy the Kyoujin steals, the brighter the cube glows, and the higher my score will be! This is almost too easy!" As he gloated, a small creature watched the scene unfold from behind the corner of a nearby building. It had long ears like a rabbit, white fur, a pink frilled collar around its neck, and bright blue, button-like eyes. It was carrying something wrapped in a bright red and white cloth on its back.

"Oh no, I'm too late-deshu!" the small creature said. "It's already started-deshu! I have to hurry and find the legendary warriors, or else-"

"Ahhh!" A scream rang out. The creature turned towards the direction of the scream to see Sachiko, trembling. "Wh, what happened here!?" she asked as she saw all the people lying on the ground. There was a young man in front of her, and quickly rushed to his side, shaking him gently. "Hey, are you okay? Say something!"

"Everything's pointless..." the young man mumbled. His eyes were dim, as if the life had been sucked out of them. "I'm so unlucky. Nothing will ever go my way again..."

"What are you saying? You shouldn't talk like that!" Sachiko tried to help the man to his feet, but he continued muttering the same thing, letting gravity have its way with his body.

"What's the point...?" he continued to moan. "Just leave me alone..."

"Your luck will get better, but if you just give up, it never will! Come on!" Sachiko continued trying to pull him up.

"Hm?" Coveton turned around and noticed Sachiko. "Well, well, looks like I missed one! Kyoujin! Make sure to get that girl, too!"

" _Kyoujin!_ " The Kyoujin turned towards Sachiko, its face glowing again. It let loose another wave, headed straight for her.

"Aaaaaah!" Sachiko screamed again, closing her eyes and raising her arms in defense. When the wave passed over her, however, a warm light appeared around her body, and the dark energy dissipated. The light faded, and Sachiko opened her eyes. "...Huh?"

"What!?" Coveton gasped. "What happened? How come her Fortune Energy isn't being taken like everyone else?" He glared at the Kyoujin, turning his back to Sachiko. "This thing must be busted!"

"Could it be...?" the small creature murmured to itself as it continued to watch from afar. "It must be-deshu! That girl...!" It came out of hiding and quickly flew towards Sachiko. "You there-deshu!" it called out to her.

"Huh?" Sachiko looked at the creature, and gasped. "Ah! That rabbit is flying! And talking!"

"How rude-deshu! I'm not a rabbit, I'm a fairy-deshu! Anyway, take this-deshu!" The fairy reached into the cloth sack it was carrying and tossed Sachiko a small white and pink device that resembled a cellphone. On the side of the device was a small green lever, with a symbol of four hearts forming a clover shape on its tip.

"What's this?" Sachiko examined the device, looking at it from different angles. "Why are you giving me this?"

"There's no time to explain-deshu! Pull the lever, and shout out, ' _Precure! Fortune Wheel Change!_ '"

"I still don't know what's happening, but what the heck!" Sachiko held the device firmly, and stood up straight. "Here goes nothing...! **Precure! Fortune Wheel Change!** " She pulled down the small lever, and an image on the device's screen began rotating in thirds, like the reels on a slot machine. One by one, the reels stopped, forming a picture of a pink star. The image flashed, and streams of light poured out of the device.

"What is that light!?" Coveton said, shielding his eyes from the blinding flash. The lights wrapped themselves around Sachiko's arms, legs, and torso. Her hair began to grow out, becoming long and silky, and her hair and eyes' color changed to a luminous shade of pink. A white band appeared above her, tying the hair into a ponytail that split into two as it reached the bottom. One by one, pieces of clothing appeared from the lights, replacing her school uniform: a pink choker, a pink dress with white linings and accents, a short white cloak draped over her shoulders, pink arm warmers decorated with magenta stars on the back of each hand, and a pair of long pink boots with white cuffs. The device inserted itself into a pink satchel tied to a brown, gold-trimmed leather belt on the dress, and a star-shaped magenta brooch appeared in the center of the dress' chest, a pink ribbon tied beneath it. Finally, a red star-shaped clip appeared in the left side of her hair, and a short white ribbon sprouted from it.

"The shining light of happiness! Cure Lucky!" The transformed Sachiko shouted out, striking a heroic pose, with her left arm folded up, showing the star emblem on her glove.

* * *

 _Sachiko: Wow! I really transformed! I feel stronger, and this outfit is so cute!_

 _Flush: Now, defeat that Kyoujin-deshu!_

 _Sachiko: No problem, this will be a piece of cake!_

 _Flush: Ahh! You're doing it all wrong-deshu!_

 _Sachiko: Ehh!? Next time, on Lucky*Pretty Cure!_

 **I'll Fight! Take Back the Fortune Energy!**

 _Next time will be super lucky, too!_

* * *

 **Author's Note (1):** 凶 is a Japanese kanji that represents bad luck, misfortune, or curses. In omikuji fortune drawings, the possible results include both good/ _kichi_ (吉) and bad/ _kyō_ (凶) results. The name of the monster, Kyoujin, is a play on _kyojin_ (巨人), which means giant. _Kyōjin_ (凶人) can also literally mean "bad guy".

 **Author's Note (2):** Sachiko's name is a play on both luck and happiness, which are closely related in Japan; her first name is written with a kanji that means luck or happiness, while her family name is written with the same kanji found on good fortunes, shown below.

 **Author's Note (3):** I apologize for republishing this story not once, but twice. I keep coming up with ideas to improve the story, and was concerned that anyone who read the previous versions might not see the changes I make.

 **Yoshimura Sachiko -** 吉村 幸子 - "voiced" by Aoi Yuuki (Hibiki Tachibana - Senki Zesshou Symphogear, Madoka Kaname - Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

 **Flush** \- "voiced" by Marie Miyake (Aki Mikage - Gin no Saji: Silver Spoon, Nana Abe - THE iDOLM(a)STER: Cinderella Girls)


	2. Take Back the Fortune Energy!

**Lucky*Pretty Cure!**

 **by Exdeathmore**

* * *

 **"Precure! Fortune Wheel Change!"** Sachiko pulled down the small lever on the device, and an image on the its screen began rotating in thirds, like the reels on a slot machine. One by one, the reels stopped, forming a picture of a pink star. The image flashed, and streams of light poured out of the device. The lights wrapped themselves around Sachiko's arms, legs, and torso. Her hair began to grow out, becoming long and silky, and her hair and eyes' color changed to a luminous shade of pink. A white band appeared above her, tying the hair into a ponytail that split into two as it reached the bottom. One by one, pieces of clothing appeared from the lights, replacing her school uniform: a pink choker, a pink dress with white linings and accents, a short white cloak draped over her shoulders, pink arm warmers decorated with magenta stars on the back of each hand, and a pair of long pink boots with white cuffs. The device inserted itself into a pink satchel tied to a brown, gold-trimmed leather belt on the dress, and a star-shaped magenta brooch appeared in the center of the dress' chest, a pink ribbon tied beneath it. Finally, a red star-shaped clip appeared in the left side of her hair, and a short white ribbon sprouted from it.

"The shining light of happiness! Cure Lucky!" The transformed Sachiko shouted out, striking a heroic pose, with her left arm folded up, showing the star emblem on her glove.

 **Chapter 2: I'll Fight! Take Back the Fortune Energy!**

After a short moment, Sachiko quickly came back to her senses. "Wh, what am I saying!? What's with this outfit? It's... actually really cute! And my hair! I always wondered how I'd look with long hair! If only Nanami could see me right now!"

"It's true-deshu!" the fairy yelled excitedly while clinging to Sachiko, now Cure Lucky. "You really _are_ one of the legendary warriors, Pretty Cure-deshu!"

"Pretty Cure...?"

"I don't know what's going on," Coveton said, "but if you're a warrior of any kind, it's only natural for me to defeat you!" He pointed his sword at Cure Lucky and the fairy. "Very well! I, the mighty Coveton, shall be your opponent! En garde!"

"Ah! Don't let him get me-deshu!" The fairy squealed as it hid behind Lucky.

"Eh? Wait a second! Time out!" Lucky tried backing away. Coveton charged at her, swinging his sword across. She ducked out of the way as the blade passed overhead. "Ahh! Be careful! Watch where you're swinging that!" Coveton continued swinging at Lucky wildly as she weaved back and forth, hopping over and sliding under the sword to avoid getting hit, with the fairy still clinging to her the entire time. ' _This is strange,_ ' she thought. ' _I feel a lot lighter and faster! I've never felt anything like it before!_ '

"Stop... dodging!" Coveton grunted between breaths. "And let... me... _hit you_!" After several more swings and misses, he stepped back, panting heavily. "C... coward! Let's see you dodge this, then! Kyoujin, stomp her flat!"

" _Kyoujin!_ " The stone Kyoujin roared as it leapt over Coveton and landed between him and Lucky. It raised one of its massive feet and prepared to stomp on Lucky.

"Here it comes-deshu!" the fairy shouted.

"Ahh! Stop!" Lucky shrieked, closing her eyes and putting her hands out in front of her. When the monster struck, it kicked up a blinding cloud of dust and debris.

"Heheheh," Coveton chuckled. "Some warrior you turned out to-" When the dust cleared, Lucky had not budged an inch, and the Kyoujin was stopped in its place. "Be!?" His eyes widened, almost as if they were ready to pop out of his head.

"...Eh?" Lucky opened her eyes, and noticed she was unharmed. "H, how am I doing this!?"

"You're a Precure now, Cure Lucky!" the fairy explained. "You're super strong, strong enough to beat that monster-deshu!"

"Really? In that case..." Lucky began pushing back harder, until the Kyoujin lost its balance and fell over backwards. "You're right! I'm like a superhero now! My horoscope was right! This really _is_ a special encounter! Lucky me!" she squealed with excitement.

"What are you doing!?" Coveton yelled at the Kyoujin. "It's just one girl! Hurry up and finish her off!"

" _Kyoujin!_ " The monster got to its feet and charged at Lucky again. Lucky leapt up into the air, stopping in front of the monster's face.

"Hiyaaah!" Lucky spun around and delivered a hard kick to the Kyoujin's head, spinning it around repeatedly. The Kyoujin stumbled back and tried to grab its head to stop the spinning.

"Now's your chance-deshu!" the fairy cheered.

"Okay!" Lucky jumped jumped up once more, this time landing behind the Kyoujin. "Get... lost!" Before the monster had time to react, Lucky pushed both of her arms forward and gave a powerful shove to its back, sending it flying.

" _Kyoujiiiiiiinn...!_ " The monster wailed, its voice becoming fainter as it got farther away.

"Ahh!" Coveton screamed, clutching his helmet as he watched the Kyoujin soar overhead and out of sight. He glanced at Lucky from the side, a cold bead of sweat running down his brow. "Y, y-you'll pay for this! _Later!_ " He immediately ran off in the direction the Kyoujin flew.

"That takes care of that!" Lucky said as she turned to the fairy and patted dust off of her hands. Her body began glowing, and in a flash of light, her outfit disappeared and she changed back into Sachiko. "That was actually kinda fun. We should do it again sometime!"

"Y... you..." The fairy muttered, its back turned to her.

"Hm? What is it?" Sachiko asked with a carefree smile.

"You did it _wrong-deshu!_ " The fairy angrily slapped Sachiko in the forehead with a resounding _**SMACK!**_

"Ow!" Sachiko clutched her forehead. "What did you do that for, Rabbit?"

"I said I'm not a rabbit-deshu! I'm a fairy, and my name is Flush-deshu!"

"Flush? I'm Sachiko, Sachiko Yoshimura. It's nice to meet you, Flush!"

"Ah, nice to meet you too- D, don't change the subject-deshu!" Flush smacked Sachiko on the forehead again.

"Ouch!"

"You didn't defeat the Kyoujin-deshu! Look-deshu!" She pointed behind Sachiko, and she turned to see the people in the park still lying on the ground and moaning to themselves.

"Eh!?" Sachiko gasped. "No way! I got rid of the monster like you told me to! Doesn't that count as beating it?"

"No it doesn't-deshu!" Flush smacked Sachiko on the head a third time.

"Ow! Please stop doing that!" Sachiko rubbed her forehead, now a bright red. "What happened to these people, anyway? They're all so gloomy right now."

"That Kyoujin you sent flying stole their Fortune Energy-deshu!"

"Fortune Energy? What's that?"

"It's the source of all good luck-deshu! Without any luck, these people have fallen into misery and despair-deshu!"

"It _stole_ their good luck? That's the most horrible thing I can think of!" Sachiko gasped without a hint of sarcasm. "Is there any way to help them?"

"You have to use your power to cleanse the Kyoujin-deshu," Flush explained. "It's the only way to return these people to normal-deshu. We have to find those two quickly, before they cause any more trouble-deshu!" She began to fly off.

"Wait a second!" Sachiko shouted.

"W-what!?" Flush screeched to a halt, startled by the sudden outburst.

"If people see a rab- I mean a fairy, flying through the air, it'll cause a scene."

"Ah, you're right-deshu. In that case..." Flush landed on Sachiko's shoulder. "I'll just sit here-deshu! Now, let's go, Sachiko!" Sachiko nodded, and ran off after Coveton.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of the city, a crowd of people began gathering around a small crater in the middle of an empty lot, mumbling to themselves.

"What happened here?" one bystander asked. "What's that thing in the middle of the hole?"

"Is it a meteorite?" another asked. "Or maybe a UFO?"

"Hah... hah..." Just then, Coveton had arrived at the scene, panting heavily. "Outta my way...!" he grunted, pushing his way past the crowd. He looked inside the crater, and at its center was the Kyoujin, face down in the dirt. "How long are you going to lay there!?" he shouted at it. "We have work to do!"

" _Kyou..._ " the Kyoujin moaned, twitching slightly.

* * *

"I still have some questions," Sachiko whispered to Flush as they continued their search through the city. "Who was that man with the sword? Why is he here?"

"He came from the Greed Empire-deshu," Flush explained. "They're really bad people who've come to your world to hold the Rite of Succession-deshu."

"Rite of Succession?"

"It's a competition to find the greediest person-deshu. And they compete by seeing who can steal the most Fortune Energy-deshu."

"They made a game out of stealing from others!? That's... unforgivable!"

"That's why I'm here-deshu. I was sent here to find the legendary warriors who can fight back against the Greed Empire, and I found you-deshu!" Just then, the pair came across more people laying on the ground, either unconscious or mumbling the same words as the young man from the park. "Not again-deshu! These people have had their Fortune Energy taken, too-deshu! Those two must be nearby-deshu!"

"There they are!" Sachiko gasped, pointing towards the open lot in the distance, where the crowd from before had gathered. Near the edge of the crater were Coveton and the Kyoujin, looking around for more victims.

"Hmm, there's no more people here," Coveton sighed. "I'll just have to find more, until this city is picked clean!"

"We have to hurry-deshu!" Flush said. "Use the Fortune Module to transform again-deshu!"

"Fortune Module? You mean this?" Sachiko held out the small device from before. "Alright, here we go again! **Precure! Fortune Wheel Change!** " She pulled the lever like before, and in a flash of light, she transformed into Cure Lucky once more. She ran ahead towards Coveton and the monster and skidded to a stop right in front of them. "Hold it right there!" she shouted at them.

"You again!?" Coveton shouted. "Why don't you just turn around and leave right now? This is none of your business!"

"That's not going to happen! I won't allow you to steal everyone's good luck and happiness!"

"You caught me off guard before, but now there will no mercy for you! Kyoujin, get her!"

" _Kyooujin!_ " The Kyoujin beat its chest and charged at Lucky. She raised her arms in defense as it pounded her repeatedly with its stone fists. With each blow, Lucky was pushed back a short distance. As it pulled back its arm for another punch, Lucky dropped her guard and threw a punch of her own. Their fists collided, sending out a violent vibration through the area. Nearby windows rattled and shattered as the vibration passed, and the pavement below them cracked in all directions. Suddenly, the Kyoujin's hand began cracking, and crumbled into rubble. It staggered backwards, as if it were in disbelief at what happened.

"Take this!" Lucky charged, landing a straight punch to the Kyoujin's stomach, sending it skidding backwards even farther.

"Go, Cure Lucky!" Flush cheered from afar. "You have it on the ropes-deshu! Just a little more-deshu!"

"Ahh!" Just then, a familiar-sounding scream rang out. Lucky looked behind her to see a familiar-looking girl standing in the distance, trembling at the sight of the Kyoujin. "Wh, what is that thing!?"

"Nanami!" Lucky gasped. "What is she doing here!?"

"An opening!" Coveton lunged at Lucky, swinging his sword down. Lucky quickly turned around and brought her hands together, catching the blade between her palms. As he continued to press the attack, he turned to the Kyoujin. "Kyoujin, take that other girl's Fortune Energy, too!"

" _Kyoujin!_ " The Kyoujin walked towards Nanami, its face glowing red. It then fired out a black wave of energy towards her.

"No!" Lucky screamed out. She pushed back against Coveton with all her might and gave a swift kick to his side, knocking him away. She then turned around and charged at the Kyoujin, but it was too late to stop the wave.

"Ahhh!" Nanami screamed again, closing her eyes and bracing herself for the worst. As the wave rushed over Nanami, however, a warm light appeared around her, causing it to dissipate. Lucky could not see this happen though, due to the Kyoujin's body blocking her view. She delivered a powerful kick to the Kyoujin's back, knocking it to the ground, and saw that Nanami was unharmed.

"Get out of here!" Lucky shouted at Nanami. "It's dangerous! Run!"

"Huh? O-okay!" Nanami nodded and ran in the opposite direction as fast as she could. As she ran out of sight, the Kyoujin's body began to tremble. Lucky jumped off its back as it slowly tried to get back on its feet.

"Now's your chance, Lucky!" Flush shouted. "Cleanse the Kyoujin with your power-deshu!"

"Okay!" Lucky held out her left arm, fist clenched, and the star on her glove began glowing. Two beams of pink light appeared on the sides of her hand, curving slightly at their ends, and were connected by a single thread of light, forming a bow. She then held out her right hand beside her, and a pink light traveled down from her shoulder to the star on her other glove. A long, pink arrow of light shot out from it, and Lucky grabbed the arrow's haft, twirling it as she nocked it on the bow, pulled back on the string, and extended her left index finger as an aiming guide. " **Precure! Lucky Arrow Shooter!** " She released the string, launching the arrow of light at the Kyoujin. The arrow pierced the monster's chest, blooming into a giant star on the other side that gently lifted it upwards.

" _Kyou...jin..._ " the monster moaned. Its body faded away, bursting into countless golden lights that spread through the air.

"You did it-deshu!" Flush cheered as she flew towards Lucky. "The Fortune Energy is free-deshu!"

At the park, the wisps of Fortune Energy began raining down, undoing the damage from the previous battle, and restoring the people to normal. In the center of the park, the statue that had been used to create the Kyoujin was also restored, and placed back in its proper place.

"Ugh... what happened?" one of the parkgoers asked as they slowly got up from the ground.

"What was I doing...?" another asked as they did the same. Eventually, all of the victims got back on their feet, and continued about their business, completely unaware of what had happened.

"No fair!" Coveton yelled. "No one said anything about this!" When he turned to see Lucky approaching him, he jumped back, sweating quite a bit. "D-don't think you've beaten me! I'm merely lulling you into a false sense of security! Next time we meet, I, the mighty Coveton, will crush you like a bug!" He took a few steps back. "I'm not running away!" He took a few more steps back. "Th-this is a tactical retreat!" He then suddenly teleported away, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

"What a strange man," Lucky said to herself before turning to Flush. "Everything's going to be back to normal now, right?"

"For now," Flush replied, "but it won't be long until another competitor shows up to outdo him-deshu. If you weren't here, he would've taken every last bit of Fortune Energy from everyone in town-deshu!" Just then, one of the falling orbs of Fortune Energy floated down in front of Lucky and burst open, revealing a small scrap of paper inside it.

"Huh? What's this?" Lucky grabbed the paper and looked at it. There were several markings on it, but nothing that made any sense to her.

"Let me see that-deshu!" Flush snatched the piece of paper out of Lucky's hand. "Ah! This is...!"

"What? What is it?"

"I'll explain later-deshu," Flush said as she stowed the paper away in her sack. "But first, is there anywhere safe we can talk?"

"Well, we could try my room. I have to get home soon anyway, or my mom will start to worry." Lucky cancelled her transformation as she and Flush left the scene.

* * *

"I'm home!" Sachiko said as she opened the front door to her house, holding Flush in her hands. A woman with long red hair and hazel eyes poked her head out from a nearby room.

"Welcome home, Sachiko," her mother Yukari said as she stepped out of the room she was in, smiling. "You're home a bit later than usual. Did something happen?"

"Ah! Well, you see..." A bead of sweat trickled down Sachiko's cheek as her eyes darted left and right.

"Hm...?" Yukari noticed Flush in her daughter's hands. "Oh, what a cute little rabbit doll! Where did you find that?"

"This? I... I won it as a prize from the game center! I saw it, and I really had to win it, th-that's why I was late!"

"As long as you aren't hiding anything from me, it's alright. Well, dinner will be ready soon, so get cleaned up."

"Okay, mom!" Sachiko ran past her mother and headed up a flight of stairs, entering her room and closing the door behind her. Inside, she placed Flush on the floor gently. "Phew, that was close. Now then... are you going to tell me about that piece of paper that appeared?"

"That can wait-deshu," Flush said. "Right now, there's something even more important to discuss-deshu!" She opened up the sack she was carrying, and laid out the scrap of paper from before, and two additional Fortune Modules. "Like I said before, I was sent here to find the legendary warriors, and you were the first-deshu. There are still two others who have the potential to become Precure-deshu."

"Hm hm," Sachiko nodded. "Go on..."

"Well, I have very good news-deshu! I've already found the second one-deshu!"

"Really? When?"

"Today, during your battle-deshu. That girl from before, she's been chosen too-deshu!"

"Girl from before? You mean... _eeeeeehhhh!?_ " Sachiko screamed.

* * *

 _Sachiko: Nanami has what it takes to be a Precure, too? This is great! Now we can fight evil together!_

 _Nanami: I'm not agreeing to anything!_

 _Sachiko: Huh? Why not?_

 _Nanami: You shouldn't be risking yourself to protect something that doesn't exist!_

 _Sachiko: We can't let the Greed Empire steal everyone's luck and happiness! We need you, Nanami! Next time, on Lucky*Pretty Cure!_

 **Believe in Luck! Cure Chance Takes a Chance**

 _Next time will be super lucky, too!_

* * *

 **Coveton -** "voiced" by Houchuu Ootsuka (King Selfish - DokiDoki! Precure, Jiraiya - Naruto)


	3. Cure Chance Takes a Chance

**Lucky*Pretty Cure!**

 **by Exdeathmore**

* * *

 _My name is Sachiko Yoshimura, and I've just had one of the luckiest encounters of my life! I went to the park one day, and saw a giant monster on the loose! Things didn't look very good at first, but then, a fairy named Flush appeared and gave me a device that let me transform into a Precure warrior, Cure Lucky! With my new powers, I defeated the monster, and returned the Fortune Energy it stole from the people, so things ended up working out in the end. Flush said there are two other Precure she has to find, and that one of them is my best friend Nanami!_

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Believe in Luck! Cure Chance Takes a Chance**

" _Eeeeeehhhh!?_ " Sachiko screamed after Flush's recent revelation. "N-N-N-Nanami!? Y-you mean she's a Precure, too!?"

"That's right-deshu," Flush replied plainly.

"A-Are you sure? How can you tell?"

"She was immune to having her Fortune Energy stolen, just like you-deshu. That's the mark of one chosen to be Precure-deshu. From your reaction, it sounds like you know her-deshu."

"Nanami's my best friend," Sachiko explained. "We've known each other since we were little. This is so amazing! Best friends, fighting evil side by side! It's like something out of an anime! I wonder if we'll have matching outfits...?" As she continued to fantasize, she got stars in her eyes.

"Focus-deshu!" Flush interrupted her. "This is serious-deshu! Since you two are friends, then you should have no problem convincing her to help-deshu."

"I don't think it'll be that easy. You don't know Nanami like I do."

"Hm? What do you mean by-"

"Sachiko!" Before Flush could finish, Yukari called to Sachiko from outside her room. "Dinner's ready!"

"Ah, coming!" Sachiko replied. "Sorry, Flush, but we'll have to talk later! I'll make sure to bring back some food for you, so wait here." After Sachiko left the room, Flush looked at the two Fortune Modules and the mysterious scrap of paper she had placed on the floor.

"Don't worry, princess," she said to herself, "I won't let you down-deshu..."

* * *

Coveton and the other two competitors were gathered in a large room, standing before the Greed Emperor's servant, the man who greeted them upon their arrival. In the servant's hand was the cube Coveton used to summon the Kyoujin, still glowing with a faint golden light. The room resembled a casino, complete with slot machines, roulette wheels, and poker and blackjack tables. In one corner of the room was a bar, the shelves behind it filled with bottles full of multicolored beverages. The bartender quietly cleaned a glass, not paying any attention to the others. Behind the Emperor's servant was a large monitor.

"Now that Coveton has returned," the servant said, "it is time to tally his score. Let's see how much Fortune Energy he has successfully stolen..." He faced the monitor as it turned on, and three names were displayed on it. A compartment above the monitor opened up, and a robotic arm snaked out and snatched the cube out of the servant's hand, then retracted back into the wall. A number appeared next to Coveton's name and began to increase, and after a few seconds, it stopped:

 **Coveton - 27**

 **Rapacy -**

 **Alvario -**

"Hahah! 27!" Coveton cheered and raised his fist in the air in triumph, then suddenly stopped. "...Wait, is that good?"

"..." The servant was silent for a moment. "Yes, it could be considered good...if your goal was to set a record for the worst start in the history of the competition." Coveton's jaw dropped, and the other two competitors began snickering.

"Hey! It wasn't my fault! I had a lot of Fortune Energy, but my Kyoujin was destroyed! You didn't say anyone would fight back!"

"Sounds like excuses to me," the female competitor said. "Maybe you're just all flash, and no substance."

"If it was me out there, I would've smashed 'em myself, not run away like you!" the burly man said. He took a big bite from the haunch of meat he was carrying, his cheeks stretching out.

"There have always been those who try to resist and interfere with the Rite of Succession," the servant said, "but the Kyoujin should be able to repel any threat. It has always been so, and always will be."

"Not this time! Grr... if I ever see that Pretty Cure, or Precure, or whatever she's called again, I'll skewer her and slice her to ribbons!" Coveton pulled out his sword and began thrusting it repeatedly in front of him.

"Pretty Cure...?" The servant's eyebrow raised at the mention of the name. "...Regardless, the rules of the competition remain in place. Coveton, you will remain here until the other competitors have taken their turn, since interfering with them is against the rules. Until then, feel free to relax here in the Emperor's casino and resort. Think of it as a reminder of what exactly is at stake." He turned to the other two competitors. "Which leaves the issue of which one of you will go next."

"Well, I suppose I could go next," the pale lady said, stepping forward.

"Mm, mmph!" The large man tried to say something, but his mouth was full of meat. He pounded his chest as he gagged on his food.

"Any objections, Alvario?" the servant asked him. Alvario dropped to his hands and knees, still gagging and unable to speak. "Then it seems Rapacy will go next."

"You boys better take notes," Rapacy said, glancing at the others. "Let a woman show you how to get results." A wicked smile crossed her face as she disappeared in an instant.

* * *

The next day at school, during lunch break, Nanami sat at her desk alone, staring out the window. Her lunch box was barely touched, and she had a look of mixed exhaustion and distress.

"Na~nami!" A familiar voice came from behind her, followed by something heavy pushing against her back. Nanami gasped and turned around to see Sachiko hugging her from behind, holding a small bag. "Caught you!" Sachiko said, smiling. "Hm? What's wrong? You don't look too good..."

"Ah, sorry," Nanami said. "I had a rough day yesterday, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around some things..."

"R, rough?" Sachiko knew what Nanami was referring to, but decided to feign ignorance for the time being. "Wh-what do you mean?" As she took a seat next to her, Nanami looked around to see if anyone was listening, then leaned in close.

"I haven't told anyone this yet," she whispered, "...but I saw a giant monster yesterday. It was smashing things and attacking people. It came after me too, but then a girl came out of nowhere, knocked it down, and told me to run, so I did. For some reason, she sounded familiar..."

"Really!?" Sachiko shouted, springing out of her seat. Some of the nearby students looked at her, and she quickly covered her mouth, blushing, and sat back down. "I mean, really?" she whispered back to Nanami.

"That wasn't even the strangest part. This morning, when I was walking past the same place I saw the monster, everything was back to normal. There was nothing broken, and nobody seemed to know anything about what happened there. It's suspicious, _very_ suspicious..."

"Hmm... you shouldn't worry about it so much, it's not good for you. I know what will help you relax!" Sachiko opened her bag, revealing two lunch boxes. She lifted the lid off one box, and inside were several small round buns. "Ta-da! My mom's special daifuku!" She handed Nanami one of the buns, and she took a bite.

"So delicious!" Nanami's eyes immediately lit up. "This soft, silky exterior, and the rich, flavorful filling that just melts in your mouth...! Your mom always knows how to make them just right! Thank you!"

"I told you it would help! Anyway, you were really lucky that Kyoujin didn't hurt you. It's a good thing that Cure Lucky was there to help!"

"What?" Nanami's joyful expression suddenly melted away. "Kyoujin? Cure Lucky? How do you know what their names are?"

"Ah, well, I... lucky guess?" Sachiko started sweating nervously, realizing her mistake.

"You're not a very good liar... you know something, don't you?" Nanami got up from her seat, grabbed Sachiko by the wrist, and began pulling her out of the classroom with her.

"Ah, wait! Nanami!" The other students watched curiously as they both left the room.

* * *

Nanami dragged Sachiko all the way to the roof of the school building, where there was no other person in sight or earshot of them. Nanami released her grip on Sachiko's wrist and glared at her.

"Okay, explain yourself," she said. "What do you know about what happened yesterday?"

"Um, well... I..." Sachiko was still sweating, struggling to find the right words to explain herself. She then took a deep breath. "I went to the park yesterday and saw the same monster and it attacked me too but then a little rabbit fairy named Flush told me I was a legendary warrior and gave me a device that let me transform into Pretty Cure so I could fight the monster but I didn't do it right and it got away so I chased after it and fought again in town and there you were so I told you to run then I beat it for real this time and saved the Fortune Energy it stole and everything went back to the way it was and now Flush needs my help to protect the world and everyone's good luck!" Sachiko's face was bright red as she gasped for air after blurting everything out at once.

"...Huh?" Nanami looked absolutely lost.

"That monster was being used by the Greed Empire to steal Fortune Energy from people!" Sachiko continued. "I became Cure Lucky to fight it, and Flush told me that you can be Precure, too! Together, we can protect everyone's good luck and happiness!"

"So let me get this straight... that girl who saved me from that monster was _you_? And now you want me to become some kind of hero to protect other people's... good luck? Because a little rabbit asked you to?"

"Mm-hm!" Sachiko nodded. "Will you do it? Please say yes! Please?"

"...Assuming I believe everything you just said, there's only one thing I can say in response: are you out of your mind!?"

"Eh?"

"You've always been the kind of person to help others when they ask for it, but this is too much!" Nanami shook her head in utter disbelief. "How can you be so reckless!?"

"B-but-"

"And you expect me to do the same, to protect _luck_ of all things? Even if I _did_ believe in luck, it's still ridiculous! We're middle school students. We can't just go running around in colorful costumes fighting giant monsters, it's too dangerous! You need to tell this Flush to find someone else for this Precure thing!" Nanami angrily stormed off, leaving Sachiko alone on the roof.

"Uuu... Nanami yelled at me..." she sobbed as she slowly headed back inside the school, hanging her head in disappointment.

* * *

Later that day, after classes ended, Sachiko saw Nanami at the school entrance and approached her.

"Nanami..." Sachiko called to her meekly.

"My answer is still no." Nanami replied calmly, but her tone indicated she was still upset. "I need to go clear my head right now, so I'm going to the library. Tell your mom I said thank you for the daifuku." She began to walk off, but then stopped. "...And I hope you seriously think about what I said." She then continued on her way. Shortly afterwards, Sachiko stepped outside, but Nanami was already out of sight.

"Psst-deshu..." Just then, Sachiko heard a small voice from a nearby bush. "Psst-deshu! Sachiko!" She could tell right away who it was. She ran over to the bush and peeked behind it to see Flush on the other side, carrying her sack.

"Flush? What are you doing here?" Sachiko asked as she looked around to make sure nobody was watching.

"I couldn't wait for you to get home to tell me the good news, so I came to you instead-deshu. So, how did it go?"

"Well..." Sachiko recounted what happened earlier between her and Nanami.

"No...? _No!?_ How could she say that-deshu!?" Flush was fuming, hopping up and down and flailing her arms. Sachiko quickly grabbed her and covered her mouth.

"Shh! Keep your voice down, or someone will hear you!"

"This is unacceptable-deshu!" Flush whispered angrily. "I'll go talk to her myself if I have to-deshu!"

"It's okay, Flush. If she doesn't want to get involved, then that's her decision."

"How can you say that? We need _all_ the help we can get to stop the Greed Empire-deshu!"

"Don't worry." Sachiko smiled gently. "Everything will work out fine, it usually does. I promise!" She picked up Flush and placed her inside her bag and left the school.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the local library, Nanami was seated alone at a table, reading a book. As she was reading, her eyes kept scanning over the same line again and again as the events on the school rooftop continued to replay in her head.

' _I can't concentrate..._ ', she thought to herself. ' _Why did I get so angry when Sachiko told me those things? Fighting monsters to protect good luck... it sounds_ exactly _like something she would do without a second thought. I just wish she would think before she acted. If anything bad happened to her, I..._ ' As Nanami put the book down, she noticed Rapacy across from her entering the room. "Who is... what is she wearing!?" she gasped, looking at her conspicuous outfit.

"Excuse me," the librarian quietly tried to get Rapacy's attention. "Can I... help you? Is there a problem?"

"I'll say there's a problem!" Rapacy said in a loud voice, grabbing the attention of the other library patrons. "I saw so many people coming and going from this place that I thought something interesting was here, but listen." She held her hand to her ear. "It's far too quiet in here."

"Well, yes. It _is_ a library. Now, you need to please lower your voice. You're disturbing the other patrons."

"This place is so dull and boring. But don't worry, I can fix that in an instant." She held out her hand, and a cube similar to the one Coveton used appeared, the only difference being the symbol on it was an icy blue instead of red. "Your luck has run out! Come on out, Kyoujin!" Just as before, bolts shot out of the cube and struck a nearby bookcase as it began glowing with an eerie black light and increasing in size. A pair of arms and legs sprouted from the bookcase, unfolding like long pieces of paper, as well as a pair of angry eyes on top with beady pupils. On the top shelf was an open book, showing the blue symbol from the cube.

" _Kyooujin!_ " the creature bellowed. The people in the library began panicking and screaming, scrambling around to get away from the monster.

' _Not again...!_ ' Nanami thought as she hid behind a bookshelf and peered around the corner.

"Ah, that beautiful sound!" Rapacy wrapped her arms around herself. "There's nothing more exciting that the sound of a captive audience!" The librarian tried to run for the exit, but before he could reach the door, he heard a loud _SNAP_ and felt something grab his ankle. He turned around to see Rapacy holding a whip. She pulled on it, dragging him to the ground. "Where do you think you're going? The party's just getting started! Kyoujin! You can start with this one!"

" _Kyoujin!_ " The Kyoujin turned towards the man, and the blue symbol began glowing. It fired a black wave at the downed man, and he collapsed as golden orbs of Fortune Energy were extracted from him. Another book on the monster's body slid out of the shelf and opened itself, absorbing the orbs before closing and returning to its original position. It turned its attention to the other people in the library and began rapidly firing more waves at them, stealing their Fortune Energy and storing it inside different books. One woman fell down right in front of Nanami, who quickly covered her mouth to keep from screaming and giving herself away.

"Hmm, is that all there was here?" Rapacy asked herself, looking at her cube. "I could've sworn there were more... oh well. Let's take this outside!" The Kyoujin lumbered towards the wall and pushed against it. The wall broke apart, and the monster continued on its way outside with Rapacy behind it as more screaming was heard. Nanami came out of hiding and checked on the fallen woman in front of her.

"Get up!" she said, shaking the woman. "Come on!"

"It's no use..." she said in a slow, dreary tone, covering her face with her hands and sobbing. "I'm so unlucky..."

"What are you saying?" Nanami looked around to see the other victims moaning and weeping to themselves. "What am I supposed to do now...?" she asked herself.

* * *

At that time, Sachiko and Flush were heading home. Flush sat inside Sachiko's bag, eating one of her daifuku.

"These really are delicious-deshu!" Flush said as she nibbled on the bun. "I've never had anything so sweet-deshu!"

"I'm glad you like it," Sachiko said, smiling. "It isn't everyday that my mom makes them outside of work. I just wish I could've shared more with Nanami."

"I still can't believe she yelled at you-deshu. I thought you two were best friends-deshu."

"It's okay. She only yells at me like that for one reason, and that's-"

"Ah!" Flush suddenly gasped, interrupting Sachiko. Her ears perked straight up, and started twitching.

"What's wrong?" Sachiko asked.

"I feel a terrible presence... there's another Kyoujin on the loose-deshu!"

"Really!? Where is it?" Flush poked her head out of the bag and looked around, then pointed in one direction.

"It's coming from that way-deshu!"

"That way? The only thing over there is... the library! Nanami!" Sachiko broke into a sprint as she headed for the library.

* * *

When they reached the library, Sachiko and Flush saw Rapacy and the Kyoujin in a grassy courtyard in front of the building, with drained people scattered about.

"Sachiko! It's time to transform-deshu!" Flush said to her.

"Okay!" Sachiko set down her bag, and pulled out her Fortune Module from her blazer's pocket. " **Precure! Fortune Wheel Change!** " She pulled the lever, and transformed into Cure Lucky once again.

"The shining light of happiness! Cure Lucky!"

"Oh, so you finally showed up," Rapacy said, noticing Lucky. "So you're the one Coveton couldn't deal with? I was expecting something more... well, I wasn't sure what to expect. I suppose I should introduce myself: I am Rapacy, mistress of pain, and future Empress of the Greed Empire."

"Return the Fortune Energy you stole!" Lucky shouted at her. "These people have done nothing to deserve this!"

"Now why would I do something like that? I'll do whatever it takes to win this competition, and I'm not going to let some brat tell me what to do!" Rapacy cracked her whip. "Kyoujin! Deal with this pest!"

" _Kyou!_ " The monster roared and threw a punch, its arm stretching out towards Lucky. She leapt out of the way, but the Kyoujin attacked again with its other fist, stretching around behind her. Lucky quickly turned around and blocked the second punch. " _Jin!_ " One of the books on its body began glowing and shot out like a missile, striking Lucky from behind and exploding.

"Ahh!" Sachiko screamed in pain as she plummeted to the ground. At the time, Nanami had been watching from behind the hole in the wall left by the Kyoujin.

"Sachiko!" Nanami gasped as she saw her hit the ground. She ran out of the building to help her, but realized that she would only get in the way. She spotted a nearby tree, and ducked behind it.

"Oh!" Rapacy gasped as shivers ran up her spine. "Such a beautiful scream! More! Let me hear more!"

"Cure Lucky!" Flush called out to her, flying to her side. "Are you okay? Hang in there-deshu!"

"I'm fine," Lucky said as she quickly sprang to her feet. "I'm not finished yet! Stay back, Flush, I don't want you to get hurt."

"Don't overdo it-deshu...!" Flush backed away as Lucky charged towards the Kyoujin. The two clashed and repeatedly traded blows, blocking and deflecting each other's attacks. Lucky managed to land a punch, knocking the monster back. She pulled back her arm for another hard punch, but suddenly felt something wrap around her wrist. She turned to see Rapacy holding her back with her whip.

"Don't forget I'm here!" Rapacy said as she pulled back on the whip, knocking Lucky to the ground again.

" _Kyoujin!_ " The Kyoujin leapt up and crashed down on top of Lucky with a body slam. Nanami cringed and looked away, imagining the pain she must be in. The Kyoujin got to its feet and proceeded to continue knocking Lucky around with its fists, then finally kicking her into a wall.

' _This is exactly what I was worried about!_ ' Nanami thought to herself. Her body was trembling with fear as she continued to watch. ' _This is why I wanted you to get out of this mess, Sachiko...!_ '

"Ohohoho!" Rapacy laughed. "Is this all there is to a Precure? I knew Coveton was just making excuses for his failure!"

"Lucky!" Flush cried. "It's too much for you to handle alone-deshu! We need your friend's help-deshu! I'll go find her and-"

"No!" Lucky protested, despite being in pain. "It's okay...! I... can handle this...!" She slowly rose back to her feet, clutching her shoulder. "I have to do this... myself! For Nanami!"

"Lucky...?" Flush was amazed at her fortitude.

"It was selfish of me to ask her to help without considering her feelings. She only gets mad at me for one reason, and that's when she's worried about me. I don't want to force her into this, and if she doesn't want to get involved, then I'll just have to do better for the both of us, so she won't have to worry anymore!"

"Sachiko...!" Nanami found herself fighting back her tears when she heard her friend's words.

"I won't let the Greed Empire take away everyone's good luck and happiness...! I'll fight to protect the city, my friends, and my family! As long as I don't give up, everything will work out in the end! Luck will find a way to make it work!"

"Well, aren't you stubborn?" Rapacy asked. "I was hoping you'd whimper in pain some more, but you're already starting to bore me. Kyoujin! Finish her off!" Several more books on the Kyoujin's body began to glow, ready to fire a final barrage at Cure Lucky.

"Stop!" Nanami shouted, coming out from behind the tree and standing between Lucky and the Kyoujin. "I won't let you hurt her anymore!" she yelled at Rapacy.

"Nanami...?" Lucky was surprised at her sudden appearance.

"Maybe I don't believe that luck is real," Nanami said, still trembling, "and maybe fighting giant monsters is dangerous, maybe even crazy. But it's clear that what you're doing here is hurting everyone, including my best friend. And hurting her... is absolutely unforgivable!"

"If that's what you truly believe, then take this-deshu!" Flush rushed in and tossed a Fortune Module at Nanami, who quickly caught it. "You have the power to make things right-deshu! Pull the lever, and shout, 'Precure! Fortune Wheel Change!'"

"If I truly have the power to stop this, then it would be a waste not to use it!" Nanami gripped the Fortune Module tightly with a look of determination on her face. " **Precure! Fortune Wheel Change!** " She pulled the lever on the Fortune Module, and the image on its screen began to spin. When the reels stopped, they formed a picture of a blue jewel. The image flashed, and streams of bright blue light poured out of the device like water, wrapping around Nanami. Her hair grew longer, and her hair and eyes became a luminous shade of blue. A white band appeared above her and tied the hair into a single ponytail. Her clothing transformed into an outfit nearly identical to Cure Lucky's, with the exceptions that the pink and magenta color scheme was now sky blue and cobalt, and the star-shaped emblems were replaced with jewel-shaped marks, and a jewel-shaped clip appeared in the right side of her hair, a short white ribbon sprouting from it.

"The tranquil wave of wisdom! Cure Chance!" The transformed Nanami struck a pose similar to Cure Lucky's, with her right arm across her chest, showing the jewel-shaped emblem on her glove. She then pointed at Rapacy and her Kyoujin. "Two against one isn't fair play, but now the odds are even!"

"The second Precure's been found-deshu!" Flush cheered.

"So now there's two of you?" Rapacy asked. "Hmph! It makes no difference. This just means there's more punishment to go around!" She lashed out her whip at Cure Chance, but she quickly sidestepped and grabbed the end with both hands. "Wha!?" Rapacy tried to pull the whip back, but Chance pulled harder, lifting her off the ground.

"Haaaaahh!" Chance began spinning around, still holding onto the whip. She then released her grip, sending Rapacy flying into the Kyoujin. Chance turned around to face Lucky. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," Lucky responded. "Thank you, Nanami!" Chance shook her head in response.

"It's Cure Chance," she corrected Lucky. "Now, let's put an end to this!" They both faced Rapacy and her Kyoujin, ready to fight.

"Ahh! You made me break a nail!" Rapacy said, looking at her hand. "You'll pay for this, you brats! Kyoujin!"

" _Kyoujin!_ " The monster fired a swarm of book missiles at the pair. They charged forward, and Chance slid under the incoming attack, while Lucky leapt high above it. Chance stopped just beneath the Kyoujin as she kicked upwards, knocking it into the air. Lucky delivered a diving kick from above, sending it crashing back down and scraping across the ground until it crashed into the side of the library.

"Now, Cure Chance!" Flush shouted. "Use your power to cleanse the Kyoujin-deshu!"

"All right!" Chance nodded. She folded her arms across her chest, and the jewel emblems on her gloves began glowing. She then held out her hands as crystal blue water appeared from the emblems, forming a large sphere in front of her. " **Precure! Chance Crystal Cascade!** " She thrust her left arm forward, and the water shot forward from the sphere, forming a rushing torrent. The attack struck the Kyoujin and wrapped it in a pillar of water. The pillar burst apart, and the Kyoujin was encased in an icy, jewel-shaped prison.

" _Kyou...jin..._ " the monster moaned. Both the ice and the Kyoujin dissipated, releasing the stored Fortune Energy into the air. As it rained down, the destroyed parts of the library were restored, and the people inside began to regain consciousness.

"Tch," Rapacy gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. "I got careless... I'll remember this, Precure!" She disappeared in a flash, and one of the spheres of Fortune Energy floated down in front of the girls. It burst open, revealing another piece of paper, just like the one Cure Lucky had found before.

"Another piece of paper?" Lucky asked. "What exactly are these?"

"Ah! I'll take care of that-deshu!" Flush said as she hovered towards the paper and grabbed it. "Don't worry-deshu. I'll explain what it's for later-deshu."

"That's what you said last time."

"Anyway," Chance interrupted, "it looks like things are back to normal here. There's no reason to stick around." Lucky and Chance quickly left the scene before anyone noticed them.

* * *

Sachiko and Nanami walked together down a sidewalk as the sun began to set over the city. There was an awkward silence between the two as they avoided looking directly at each other. Flush quietly watched them from inside Sachiko's bag.

"...So," Nanami broke the silence, "I'm assuming your mom doesn't know about any of this?"

"Of course," Sachiko replied. "If she knew, she'd probably be even angrier than you were, and that's something nobody would want to see." There was another moment of silence between them. "...I'm sorry I upset you today."

"Huh? Y-You don't need to apologize. I was the one who overreacted... I was just worried about you, that's all..."

"I know I tend to get myself in some bad situations, but you're always there to help me out when I need it, and I felt like I was just dragging you into another problem..."

"I should have known you wouldn't turn your back on this, even if I said no. But if you really insist on working harder and putting yourself in danger..." Nanami faced Sachiko with a smile. "...then I guess I'll just have to work harder, too, and keep a closer eye on you."

"Nanami...!" Sachiko's eyes widened, a big smile forming on her lips.

"Does that mean...?" Flush's eyes lit up. Nanami nodded.

"I look forward to working with you, Flush. Let's work together to keep our home safe!"

"Yay!" Sachiko cheered as she clinged to Nanami's arm. "See, Flush? I told you everything would work out! Things turned out super lucky again!"

"You really are hopeless." Nanami shook her head. "What would you do without me?" The three of them started giggling together as they continued on their way.

* * *

"Rapacy's performance today was as lacking as Coveton's," the Emperor's servant said as he knelt before a large throne. The dark green curtains hanging over it shrouded the person sitting in it in darkness. Behind the servant was an open area with a brightly burning green flame at its center that reached all the way up the chamber through an opening in the ceiling, closed off by a tall black metal fence on all sides. "It seems that a second Precure has appeared in that world. This can only mean one thing..." There seemed to be no response from the person on the throne, only a rhythmic hissing and churning sound. "...I understand. If that is what you wish, my Emperor." The servant rose to his feet and left the room.

"Pretty... Cure..." a gruff voice came from the throne in labored breaths as the hissing and churning continued.

* * *

 _Sachiko: Yay! Nanami's on board! Let's do our best as Precure!_

 _Nanami: But what exactly is our goal as Precure?_

 _Sachiko: Isn't it to fight the Greed Empire and protect our world?_

 _Nanami: It can't be that simple... can it?_

 _Sachiko: Hmm, maybe Flush knows more._

 _Nanami: Why don't you tell us everything, Flush? Start from the beginning. Next time, on Lucky*Pretty Cure!_

 **The Legend of the Fortune Chest**

 _Next time will be super lucky, too!_

* * *

 **Author's Note (1):** _Daifuku_ (大福) is a Japanese confection some believe to be a bringer of good luck, consisting of small round rice cake (mochi) stuffed with sweet filling, usually red bean paste. Daifuku literally translates to "big luck".

 **Author's Note (2):** The three competitors' names are derived from words relating to greed:

Coveton = Covet

Rapacy = Rapacity

Alvario = Avarice

 **Takamoto Nanami** \- 高本 七美 - "voiced" by Asami Imai (Chihaya Kisaragi - THE iDOLM(a)STER, Ikaruga - Senran Kagura)

 **Rapacy** \- "voiced" by Kikuko Inoue (Belldandy - Ah! My Goddess, Lust - Fullmetal Alchemist)


	4. Legend of the Fortune Chest

**Lucky*Pretty Cure!**

 **by Exdeathmore**

* * *

There came a knocking from the front door of Sachiko's house. Sachiko's mother Yukari came to the door to open it, and on the other side was Nanami, holding several textbooks.

"Oh, Nanami!" Yukari happily greeted her. "Here to study with Sachiko again?"

"That's right," Nanami nodded. "Is she home?"

"She's upstairs in her room. Come in, come in!" Yukari ushered Nanami inside. "Will you be here for dinner tonight? I always have time to make extra portions for important guests!"

"Oh, I don't want to be a burden."

"Don't be silly. It's the least I can do for you for being such good friends with Sachiko."

"No, I really don't mind..." Nanami blushed slightly. "A-anyway, I should go see her now. Please excuse me." Nanami quickly took off her shoes and headed upstairs to Sachiko's room.

* * *

Inside Sachiko's room, she and Flush were seated on the floor, already waiting for Nanami.

"Yay! Nanami's here!" Sachiko cheered, shaking with excitement.

"Calm down," Nanami said. "It's not like this is the first time I've been here."

"But this is the first time since we became Precure! This is our first _secret_ meeting! Cure Lucky and Cure Chance, a dynamic duo fighting against an evil empire!"

"This isn't a game-deshu!" Flush intervened, smacking Sachiko on the forehead. "Protecting this world from the Greed Empire is a very serious matter-deshu!"

"Ow! I know that!" Sachiko clutched her forehead. "But that doesn't mean we can't have fun doing it!"

"I know I said I would help," Nanami said, "but I would feel a lot better if I knew exactly what we were fighting for."

"Isn't it to keep the Greed Empire from stealing everyone's Fortune Energy? Maybe if we do it long enough, they'll give up and go home?"

"There has to be more to it than that. I don't plan on doing this for the rest of my life." Nanami turned to Flush. "Can you tell us everything you know, Flush?"

"Very well-deshu," Flush replied. "I'll start from the beginning-deshu..."

 **Chapter 4: Legend of the Fortune Chest**

"I should start with a proper introduction-deshu. A-hem!" Flush bowed politely. "I am Flush, a fairy from the Grace Kingdom, sent here to this world on an important mission-deshu."

"Grace Kingdom?" Sachiko asked. "You never mentioned that before. What is it?"

"The Grace Kingdom is a world completely separate from this one-deshu. It's a beautiful place, filled with colorful flowers and trees, kind and friendly people, and it's ruled by the generous king and queen-deshu!" Flush's eyes sparkled as she talked about her home. "And you're looking at none other than the personal attendant of the princess-deshu!" She puffed out her chest in pride.

"It sounds so nice! I wish I could see it!"

"The Grace Kingdom believes in sharing happiness and prosperity with everyone-deshu. That's why they are naturally opposed to the Greed Empire and their Rite of Succession-deshu."

"Tell us more about the Greed Empire," Nanami said. "What is their goal? Why have they come to our world?"

"The Greed Empire was founded over 1,000 years ago by the first Greed Emperor-deshu. He was a very evil and powerful man who conquered many worlds, enslaving their people and taking all of their riches for himself-deshu. He was the one who started the Rite of Succession in order to find the greediest person in the universe-deshu."

"Why is that important? Why would anyone want to prove they're the greediest?"

"It's because the winner of the Rite of Succession becomes the next Greed Emperor and inherits the entire Greed Empire-deshu. The first Emperor had no heirs, so he wanted to find someone as greedy as he was to carry on his legacy after he was gone-deshu. So far, the Rite of Succession has been held twelve times, and a different world has been targeted each time-deshu. Your world was unlucky number thirteen-deshu."

"What happened to the other worlds?" Sachiko asked.

"..." Flush was silent for a moment, looking down at the floor. "...They had all their Fortune Energy taken-deshu. Fortune Energy is the force that determines good luck, and keeps misfortune away-deshu. Without Fortune Energy, nothing but bad things will happen to you, and constant bad luck leads to sorrow and despair-deshu. That's exactly what happened to the people of those worlds, and in that state, the Greed Empire easily conquered them-deshu."

"You said that the Grace Kingdom opposed them," Nanami said. "Haven't they been able to stop them?"

"We've tried to fight the Greed Empire for generations," Flush said, "but we could only slow them down-deshu. The best we could do was provide refuge for those who were able to escape the Empire-deshu..." Her eyes began watering. "And then, and then..."

"Flush..." Sachiko could see how upset Flush was over it.

"...The king and queen did the _unthinkable_ -deshu! They signed a treaty with the Empire, agreeing that they will never again interfere with the Rite of Succession-deshu. In exchange, the Empire would leave the Grace Kingdom alone-deshu. But the princess wouldn't accept that-deshu! One day, she called me to her chambers..."

* * *

" _Flush, I am giving you a very important mission. I have learned which world the Greed Empire is going to target next. You must go to there and find the legendary warriors, Pretty Cure. With their help, you must also find the Fortune Chest. They are the keys to defeating the Greed Empire once and for all. You are the only one I can trust with this task!"_

* * *

"...So the princess sent me to this world with the Fortune Modules, and that's when I first met Sachiko-deshu."

"Fortune Chest?" Sachiko asked. "You never mentioned that before, either."

"The mysteries just keep piling up," Nanami noted.

"The princess didn't tell me much," Flush continued, "but if she says that it's important, then it must be-deshu! She said it would be somewhere overflowing with Fortune Energy, and no other place in the world has as much Fortune Energy as this city-deshu! It must be here-deshu!"

"Well, people _do_ say Jizen City is where people come to find their fortunes!" Sachiko said.

"I don't think they meant it literally, though," Nanami said. "If this Fortune Chest is somewhere in the city, then how are we going to find it?"

"Hmhmhm..." Flush snickered. "With these-deshu!" She pulled out the two scraps of paper from when the Kyoujins were cleansed. "These are no ordinary pieces of paper... they're pieces of a map-deshu! The Fortune Chest will only appear when all the pieces are together-deshu."

"A treasure hunt... how exciting!" Sachiko's eyes lit up. "What are we waiting for? Let's get out there and start looking!"

"Not so fast," Nanami said, grabbing the books she had brought with her and placing them in front of Sachiko.

"Eh?"

"I didn't bring these just as an excuse to come visit." Nanami pulled out a pair of glasses and slipped them on, a stern look coming from her eyes. "Precure or not, there's no excuse for skipping out on your studies!"

"Eeeeehh!?" Sachiko hung her head. "No way..."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Greed Empire casino, Coveton and Alvario were both seated at the slot machines, pulling the levers and trying their luck, but to little avail. Rapacy was seated at the bar with a glass of red liquid in front of her. She glared angrily at the scoreboard out of the corner of her eye:

 **Coveton - 27**

 **Rapacy - 21**

 **Alvario -**

"Tch, coming in second, and to that loudmouth of all people..." Rapacy muttered to herself. "I could've gotten a much higher score...! Ah, this is so frustrating!" she suddenly shouted out, pounding the counter with her fist. "Those annoying brats! Next time, I'll show them the true meaning of pain!"

"See, I told you!" Coveton said to her. "I wasn't just making it up! You won't get a next time though, because _I'll_ be the one who defeats them!"

"Though your frustration is understandable, your primary goal is to gather Fortune Energy, not satisfy your ego." The voice of the Emperor's servant came from behind Coveton and Alvario. They both turned around to suddenly see him standing there. "Now then, since both Coveton and Rapacy have had a turn, Alvario will be next to try his luck."

"My turn, huh?" Alvario got up from his seat. "Just watch! I'll get more Fortune Energy than both of you clowns put together, and if those Precure get in my way..." He lifted up his giant haunch of meat and swung it down on top of the slot machine in front of him, crushing it like an aluminum can as coins sputtered out of its repository. "Gahahahahahah!" he chuckled as he stomped off, the ground slightly shaking with each step.

* * *

"Ahh, finally finished!" Sachiko breathed a sigh of relief as she slumped over on her desk, with papers and books scattered in front of her. She was panting heavily, as if she had just finished running a marathon. Standing behind her was Nanami, an intense aura emanating from her.

"Incredible-deshu..." Flush said, slightly trembling. "I've never seen anything like it-deshu..."

"I take our schoolwork very seriously, Flush," Nanami said with the same stern look as before they had started. The moment she removed her glasses, however, her expression returned to normal, and the tension in the air subsided. "Now, since that's out of the way, let's get back to what we were discussing. How are we going to find more of these map pieces?"

"The princess said that they are drawn to places with lots of Fortune Energy," Flush explained. "When the Kyoujins gathered up so much Fortune Energy from their victims, they probably attracted the map pieces as well-deshu."

"There you have it!" Sachiko said. "If we just keep beating the bad guys when they show up, and we'll find them all!"

"It doesn't seem right somehow, waiting for the enemy to attack..." Nanami looked concerned. "Isn't there a way for us to find these map pieces ourselves?"

"Hmm, it wouldn't be impossible-deshu..." Flush pondered. "But it would probably be really hard-deshu. Someone could have found a piece without knowing exactly what it was, but the chances of that are really slim-deshu."

"Oh, that reminds me." Nanami turned to Sachiko. "Isn't _he_ supposed to be back in town by now?"

"Hm? Ah, you're right! If there's anyone who might be able to help us, it's _him_!"

"What are you talking about?" Flush asked. "Don't leave me out of the loop-deshu!"

"Don't worry, you'll see soon enough." Sachiko picked up Flush. "We need to make a trip downtown!"

* * *

Downtown Jizen City is one of the oldest and busiest parts of town, relatively untouched since the city was first built. The girls could tell they were getting close when the sidewalks began to transition from solid concrete to paved stone. Some of the buildings had an antiquated look, while others bore the marks of renovation and remodeling. Eventually, they arrived in front of a small store. Next to the front door was a large window, displaying several different toys, knick-knacks, and other assorted objects. As Sachiko opened the door, a small bell hanging overhead rang. In the far end of the room was a middle-aged man with short dark hair and glasses, wearing a slightly dirty brown smock. His back was turned to the girls as he was picking up a small box in the corner.

"Welcome, welcome!" the man said as he turned around. His seemed surprised when he saw Sachiko and Nanami.

"Hi, Mr. Ogata!" Sachiko cheerfully greeted him.

"Well, if it isn't my two favorite customers, Sachiko and Nanami!" Ogata smiled as he carried the box to the counter at the front of the store. "You two seem to be inseperable as always. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yes it has," Nanami said, bowing politely. "How was your trip this time, Mr. Ogata?"

"One of the best ones ever! I found a lot of interesting stuff to add to my stock this time!" As Ogata and Nanami were conversing, Flush, who was still in Sachiko's arms, looked up at her.

"I still don't understand-deshu," she whispered.

"Mr. Ogata runs this novelty and pawn shop," Sachiko whispered back. "Nanami and I have visited his shop since we were kids, and he would show us all the cool stuff he finds whenever he goes traveling."

"That's not what I meant-deshu! I mean what does this have to do with finding the Fortune Chest or the map pieces?"

"Mr. Ogata's also a collector. He's always looking for rare and unique items, and knows all kinds of rumors in the city. If there's anyone who might be able to help us, it's him."

"Did you say something, Sachiko?" Ogata suddenly asked her.

"Ah! N-n-nothing! I d-didn't say anything!" Sachiko stammered.

"Hm? That doll..." Ogata stared intently at Flush. Flush did her best to remain motionless, feeling the pressure from his gaze.

"Wh, what is it?" Sachiko began sweating nervously.

"I've seen dolls like that with girls around your age in a few of the places I passed through on my last trip. I guess it's some up and coming trend. Maybe I should start stocking some... anyway, why don't I show you some of the goods I picked up?" Ogata began reaching into the box on the counter, and pulled out an even smaller box. "For Sachiko, might I interest you in this music box?" He opened the box, and inside was a miniature marionette band that began playing a familiar tune as they bobbed up and down.

"That's so cute!" Sachiko seemed pleased with it. "Where did you find this one?"

"From a town called Kanon. A local artisan made this miniature replica of the original marionette band that plays in their central square. And for Nanami..." Ogata reached into the box again, and pulled out a large book. "...how about this book I picked up in Kibougahana?"

"Let me see." Nanami said as Ogata handed her the book. She opened it up, and inside were various photos of vast fields of flowers, along with notes on the town's history and botanical garden. "Oh, I've heard about this! This is where they're working on creating new breeds of flowers, isn't it? Interesting..." She slowly began to lose herself in the pages.

"I knew you'd like it. So, can I count on you to take these off my hands?"

"Actually, Mr. Ogata, we need your help with something." Sachiko interrupted. She approached the counter, placing Flush on top of it and showed Ogata the two map pieces they had found. "Have you seen anything like these before?"

"Let's see..." Ogata adjusted his glasses as he took a closer look at the map pieces, and his eyebrows raised in interest. "I see... I'd just about given up on seeing this again."

"You've seen it before?" Nanami asked.

"See for yourself." Ogata reached under his counter for something, and pulled up a small sealed case. He opened it, and inside was another scrap of paper bearing similar markings. "That's...!" Nanami gasped.

"I found this thing years ago, long before I opened this shop." Ogata took the scrap out of the case, holding it up. "The symbols and marks on it were unlike anything I'd ever seen before. Not only that, it was practically indestructible; you couldn't burn it or tear it no matter what. I just knew it had to be part of something bigger, something important. I spent months on end trying to find any information on it, or any other pieces like it. That was when I decided to start traveling around the world, looking for any answers to this mystery."

"Really?" Sachiko asked. "All that for this one piece of paper?"

"That's exactly what the people I talked to said," Ogata chuckled. "At the time, it probably seemed ridiculous to go through so much trouble over a piece of paper, but looking back, I'm glad I did. As I went from city to city, from country to country, I was amazed at all the things I saw and heard." He closed his eyes, imagining all the places he had visited. "There's so much out there, and I only scratched the surface. Unfortunately, I never did find any more information about the scrap, but I came home inspired, and decided to open up this shop. I want everyone who comes here to have that same sense of wonder that I do, and maybe even convince them to make journeys of their own. I guess you can say it became my dream."

"That's an admirable dream," Nanami commented.

"I guess that piece of paper turned out to be a good luck charm for you in the end," Sachiko added.

"I guess so," Ogata said, chuckling to himself. "Though I have to ask... after so many years, I only ever found this one piece. How is it that you found not one, but _two_ of them?"

"Well, we found them after we became Pre-" Before Sachiko could finish, Nanami rushed over and immediately covered her mouth.

"Pre?"

"A-after we became pre, pre... prepared for our upcoming test! Ahahah..." Nanami finished for her, laughing worryingly. Just then, there was a slight rumbling. The rumbling slowly intensified, and some of the goods on the shelves wobbled back and forth, eventually knocking some items off.

"What is that?" Ogata asked. "An earthquake?" He stepped out from behind the counter and headed out the front door with the map piece still in his hand. As he did, Flush's ears began perking straight up.

"This isn't an earthquake-deshu..." Flush said, trembling. "It's a Kyoujin, and it's really close-deshu!"

"What!?" Sachiko gasped. "Nanami, let's go!"

"Right!" Nanami nodded as all three headed out of the store after Ogata.

* * *

"Ahh! Run!" People screamed as the scrambled away, running past the store. Sachiko and Nanami found Ogata, stunned in fear as he gazed down the road. In the middle of the street was Alvario, munching on his meat, and towering over him was a massive metal Kyoujin. Its body was made of parts of a construction vehicle, with a pair of headlights for eyes, iron wrecking balls for hands, and a dark yellow symbol on its chest, identical to the symbol on the other Kyoujins. Its treaded feet were the source of the tremors as it rumbled down the road.

"Outta my way, wimps," Alvario barked at the fleeing people, "or my Kyoujin will move you for me!"

" _Kyoujin!_ " The Kyoujin raised one of its arms, pointing it at a car in the road, and the wrecking ball shot out, attached to a chain. The driver ran out of the car just in time as the wrecking ball crushed it with little effort, then slowly retracted back into place. As Alvario walked past the smashed car, the Kyoujin simply rolled over it, flattening what was left. It swung its arm to the side, smashing into a nearby building and tearing down its walls.

"Wh, what is that thing!?" Ogata gasped.

"Mr. Ogata!" Nanami called out to him. "It's dangerous here! We have to run!"

"But my store! I can't let that thing destroy my store!" Just then, the Kyoujin released a wave of black energy from its body. It quickly caught up to the fleeing people as they fell over, wisps of Fortune Energy escaping their bodies and floating towards the Kyoujin. The wave then passed over Ogata and the girls, and though Ogata's Fortune Energy was taken as well, Sachiko and Nanami were once again shielded by a warm light.

"Mr. Ogata!" Sachiko cried out, catching him before he fell to the ground. She gently placed him against the wall of his store. "Flush, keep an eye on him," she said to her. She then turned to Nanami, who silently nodded as they both pulled out their Fortune Modules.

" **Precure! Fortune Wheel Change!** " They shouted out in unison, pulling down on the levers. In a bright flash of light, the two girls transformed.

"The shining light of happiness! Cure Lucky!"

"The tranquil wave of wisdom! Cure Chance!"

From afar, Alvario saw the flash of light, and upon seeing Lucky and Chance, he began to lumber towards them. "Huh, so you two are Precure?" he asked them as he got closer, hoisting his haunch of meat over his shoulder.

"Who are you?" Lucky asked. "Another competitor from the Greed Empire?"

"The name's Alvario. I'm the one who's gonna win the competition, and I'm also the one who's gonna smash you two flat! Show 'em, Kyoujin!"

" _Kyoujin!_ " The monster charged ahead, shooting out its iron fist. Lucky and Chance jumped away as it slammed into the ground, leaving behind a perfectly round indentation where they had been standing.

"It can't stop us both at once," Chance said to Lucky. "You take the left, and I'll take the right!" Lucky nodded, and both girls charged the Kyoujin in a pincer attack. It turned side to side, confused, until it decided to face Chance to attack her.

"You left yourself open!" Lucky shouted, preparing to attack the monster from behind.

"Guess again!" Alvario suddenly charged in, and swung the haunch of meat like a club, striking Lucky in the stomach and knocking her away.

"Lucky!" Chance gasped as she took her eyes off her opponent.

" _Kyou!_ " The Kyoujin shot its fist into the air, then swung its arm around. The iron ball struck Chance from the side, knocking her away as well, and into Lucky as they collided mid-air.

"Lucky! Chance! Hang in there-deshu!" Flush cried, helpless to do anything but watch.

"Hmph!" Alvario snorted. "You two ain't so tough! I could probably take you both by myself!"

"He's strong...!" Lucky remarked as she and Chance got back on their feet, catching their breath. "Stronger than the other two were! Just one hit, and I feel like the wind's been knocked out of me..."

"We have to drive them back," Chance said, looking back at Ogata's shop. "If we don't, Mr. Ogata's store will be destroyed!"

" _Kyou! Jin!_ " The Kyoujin shot out its fist again. Neither of the girls had the strength to dodge it again, so they both put out their arms to catch the incoming attack as it pushed them further back, closer towards the store. The ball retracted, and the monster fired with its other fist, pushing Lucky and Chance further back.

"You won't... get away with this!" Lucky grunted as she struggled to push back against each blow. "I won't let you destroy... Mr. Ogata's treasures!" Just then, the Kyoujin pulled back its fist, and stopped attacking.

"Treasure?" Alvario's eyebrows raised and his nostrils flared at the mention of the word. "Where?" He looked around. "Where is it? Outta my way!" He ran up to Lucky and Chance, pushing his way aside as he approached the store. He looked inside the window, but saw only the same goods and novelties on display as before. "There's no treasure here! You two lied! All I see is cheap junk!"

"'Cheap junk'?" Chance was angry at his remark. "You think something is only valuable if it's expensive?"

"Of course! Just look at these!" Alvario held out his hands and stuck out his chest. The light gleaming off his rings and necklaces was enough to blind the girls for a brief moment. "Now _this_ is treasure! Only the best will do: gold, jewels, food, drink... there's never enough! When I become the next Greed Emperor, I'll have all of that and more!" He took a bite of his meat and grinned. "And if there's something I don't have, I'll find someone who has it, and just take it from them! Gahahahahahah!"

"You're wrong!" Lucky shouted at him, interrupting his laughing. "These things are very valuable! They carry Mr. Ogata's dream to touch the lives of many people, and I won't allow you to mock that!"

"His treasures may seem worthless to you," Chance added, "but their true value is in the happiness they bring to others!"

"Bah! I don't have time for this!" Alvario grunted. "I'll get rid of you two, and then I'll smash this ratty old store to pieces!"

"I... won't... let you!" Lucky charged forward, driving her fist into Alvario's bulbous stomach. His belly rippled from the impact, but didn't seem to do much else to him.

"Gahahah! Is that all you got?" Alvario raised his haunch, ready to strike Lucky again.

"Not so fast!" Chance suddenly rushed in, kicking the haunch out of Alvario's hand and into the air.

"My meat!" Alvario looked up, distracted by it.

"Gotcha!" Lucky shouted, grabbing Alvario by the arm with both hands, and throwing him over her shoulder. He tumbled across the ground, grunting every time he bounced off the ground until he crashed into the Kyoujin, toppling it. Just then, the flying haunch came back down.

"You can have this back!" Chance said, kicking it again towards him. Alvario got back up just in time to be smacked in the face by it, knocking him down again.

"Why, you...!" Alvario growled as he rose once again. "Kyoujin! Smash 'em! Smash 'em _now_!"

" _Kyoujin!_ " The Kyoujin roared, launching both its fists towards Lucky and Chance.

" **Precure! Chance Crystal Cascade!** " Chance shot out a torrent of water at the iron balls, pushing against them as the water fanned out into a wall. "Lucky, now!" she called to her, looking over her shoulder.

"Okay!" Lucky nodded as she leapt up, calling out her bow. " **Precure! Lucky Arrow Shooter!** " She fired a single arrow, piercing the veil of water in front of her and continuing on towards the Kyoujin. The arrow found its mark, bursting into a giant star behind the monster and lifting it into the air.

" _Kyou...jin..._ " The Kyoujin moaned, its body dissipating into a shower of golden lights that rained down on the area, undoing the damage to the streets and nearby buildings as people slowly regained consciousness.

"Not fair, not fair!" Alvario shouted as he stomped the ground angrily, his face still red from being hit. "You'll pay for this, Precure!" He took one last bite of meat from his haunch before vanishing with it.

"Lucky, Chance!" Flush called out to them as she approached. "You did it-deshu!" Just then, she noticed a faint glimmer out of the corner of her eye. She turned around to see the light coming from Ogata's hand, still holding on to the scrap of paper. "Ah, it's reacting to the Fortune Energy in the air-deshu. There's no doubt, it's definitely a map piece-deshu!"

"Ungh..." Ogata groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. Flush quickly ducked behind the girls to keep from being seen.

"Are you alright?" Lucky asked as she helped him to his feet.

"I, I think so... Sachiko, Nanami...! Where are-"

"Don't worry," Chance interrupted, "they're safe. But, about that piece of paper in your hand..." She pointed to the map piece. "I know it sounds unreasonable, but it's really important that we have it. Please, can you give it to us?"

"What? I don't understand what's-" Ogata paused when he saw Flush's ears popping up from behind Lucky's shoulder. ' _Those ears... a rabbit? It looks just like...!_ ' He took another look at Lucky and Chance, and noticed some distinct similarities. ' _I see..._ ' He took a deep breath, then held out his hand, offering the map piece to them. "...Okay. If it's really that important to you, you can have it."

"Really? Thank you so much!" Lucky said. She reached out to the map piece, but then Ogata quickly pulled his hand back.

"However!" he added. "There's just one condition."

"Eh?" Lucky seemed confused.

"...You two have to promise to visit my shop and buy something sometime. I'll even give you a special 'hero discount'."

"You got yourself a deal!" Lucky nodded. Ogata nodded in return, and finally handed her the map piece. "Thank you again! Take care!" She waved to him as she and Chance leapt off with Flush in tow.

"I don't know exactly what it is," Ogata said to himself, "but something big's going on in this city, and if anyone can get to the bottom of it, it's probably going to be those two." He then pumped his fists, barely able to contain his eagerness. "It looks like the hunt is back on! Time to see if I can't scrounge up some more info. I won't fall behind those kids!"

* * *

Later, back in Sachiko's room, she, Nanami, and Flush laid out the three map pieces between them.

"And that makes three," Sachiko said joyfully. "I wonder how many pieces there are?"

"I'm not sure," Flush said, "but three are better than none-deshu. Now, you two, hold out your Fortune Modules-deshu." Sachiko and Nanami did as they were told, and Flush tapped the area below the screens. They opened up, revealing panels with several small buttons. Flush pressed one of these buttons on Sachiko's Fortune Module, and the map pieces began glowing brightly. They floated up into the air, and flew towards the devices, entering thorugh their screens. The girls took a closer look at their screens, and they showed an image of the three pieces placed in different positions, with some of their edges lining up together. There was still a considerable amount of black space remaining between them, however. "The map pieces will be safest with you two-deshu."

"There's one thing that still bothers me," Nanami interrupted. "Mr. Ogata gave us - that is, Cure Lucky and Cure Chance - the map piece so readily... don't you think that's a little bit suspicious?"

"You worry too much, Nanami!" Sachiko said, patting her on the back. "We're just lucky that everything worked out in the end!"

"One of us has to take this seriously, and since you won't, it has to be me. Honestly, you really are hopeless..." Nanami shook her head in disbelief of Sachiko's boundless optimism. As the two of them continued talking, Flush was deep in thought.

' _We're one step closer to our goal-deshu..._ ' Flush looked at her sack, and the third Fortune Module inside. ' _Once we find the third Precure and the Fortune Chest, we'll save not only this world, but all the others we failed to protect-deshu! Watch over us, princess..._ '

* * *

 _Sachiko: That new transfer student on the baseball team is so cool!_

 _Nanami: Really? How so?_

 _Sachiko: He's strong, fast, and really nice, too!_

 _Nanami: You seem really interested. Don't tell me...!_

 _Sachiko: And he asked me out, too!_

 _Nanami: A d-d-date!? Next time, on Lucky*Pretty Cure!_

 **The Star of the Diamond! Sachiko's First Date!?**

 _Next time will be super lucky, too!_

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Jizen City is named for _jizen_ (慈善), which roughly means charity or generosity.

 **Alvario** \- "voiced" by **Kouji Ishii** (Gekidrago - Futari wa Precure, Garterbelt - Panty & Stocking)

 **Mr. Ogata** \- "voiced" by Kenji Akabane (Producer - THE iDOLM(a)STER, Kouji Kabuto - Shin Mazinger: Shougeki Z-hen)


	5. Sachiko's First Date?

**Lucky*Pretty Cure!**

 **by Exdeathmore**

* * *

The sky over Jizen City was a mixture of blue and orange as the sun slowly began its descent. On the school athletic field, a group of boys in vanilla uniforms and caps were busy with various exercises, swinging bats and throwing balls to each other. Nearby, Sachiko and two other female students, both of whom were also in sports uniforms, were carrying boxes of equipment to the storage shed.

"Thanks again for helping out, Sachiko," one of the students said. "We wouldn't have been able to get everything put away in time for the baseball team's practice today if you hadn't shown up. I guess your good luck saved the day again!"

"Don't worry about it!" Sachiko replied with a smile. "I don't remember the baseball team being so busy last year. I wonder what changed?"

"Didn't you hear?" the second student asked. "Some miracle player transferred here this year. The whole team was really excited about it, because since then, the baseball team's been really enthusiastic. They've been talking about finally making it to the championship this year."

"Really? All that for one person? I wish I could meet this mystery player!" Just then, an errant baseball bounced and rolled towards the girls, coming to a stop at Sachiko's feet.

"Hey!" one of the baseball players called out to them as he approached, a youthful-looking boy with chestnut brown hair under his cap, and bright greenish-yellow eyes. "Sorry, can you toss that ball this way?" he asked.

"Sure thing!" Sachiko said, picking up the ball and giving it a light toss to the boy, who easily caught it in his glove.

"Thanks!" The boy paused for a second when he noticed Sachiko was the only one of the three girls in their school uniform. "Huh, you aren't with any of the other sports teams, are you?"

"Not me," Sachiko shook her head. "I was free at the time, so I decided to help clean up so you could use the field sooner. Just doing what I can!"

"In that case, thanks again! Name's Natsuki, by the way. Natsuki Kinboshi. I recently transferred here this year. Nice to meet ya!"

"Transferred? Ah, you must be the miracle player!"

"Miracle? Well, I wouldn't go that far," Natsuki laughed. "Hard work and practice is hardly a miracle."

"I'm Sachiko Yoshimura!" Sachiko eagerly introduced herself. "It's nice to meet you, too!"

"Yoshimura? I've heard that name floating around since I came here. They say you have some kind of crazy luck or something. Hmm..." Natsuki gave Sachiko a quick glance up and down. "Not exactly what I expected, though..."

"It's true!" the first student said. "Sachiko was just saying how she wanted to meet you, and right after that, you came here! That's super lucky, if you ask me!"

"Natsuki!" one of the other baseball players called to him from the field, quite a distance away. "We're still in the middle of practice here! Hurry up and toss that ball back over!"

"Okay, but only because you asked so nicely!" Natsuki replied, a sly grin forming on his face. He clenched the ball tightly as he spun around and hurled it. "Catch!" The baseball rocketed through the air, and as the other player reached up and caught it, the impact was so powerful, it caused him to stumble back and fall on his bottom. Natsuki turned to face the girls again. "Well, I gotta get back to practice. See ya 'round, lucky girl!" He then began running back to the field to rejoin his teammates.

"Wow, did you see that!?" the second student gasped. "I've never seen anyone throw like that before! I thought they were exaggerating when they were talking about him, but I guess the rumors were true!"

"What an interesting person," Sachiko said, smiling. "I have a feeling things will get more exciting around here!"

* * *

 **Chapter 5: The Star of the Diamond! Sachiko's First Date!?**

The next morning, as Sachiko and Nanami passed the school gates together, they noticed the baseball team out on the athletic field again, this time running laps. At the head of the pack was Natsuki, not showing any signs of exhaustion.

"The baseball team really _is_ going all out this year," Sachiko noted. "Nanami, did you know about the new student that joined them recently?"

"I remember someone in the student council bringing it up," Nanami replied, "but I can't recall the details. Things have been pretty busy lately, between the council meetings, my studies, and now being Precure. It's difficult to keep track of everything at once, even for me."

"Hey, lucky girl - I mean, Yoshimura!" a familiar voice called out. The girls stopped to see Natsuki waving them down as he approached.

"Oh, Kinboshi! Good morning!" Sachiko greeted him.

"No need to be formal. Just call me Natsuki, everyone else does!"

"Really? In that case, good morning, Natsuki!"

"You two know each other?" Nanami asked, looking puzzled.

"We just met yesterday after class," Sachiko explained. "Natsuki, this is my best friend, Nanami!"

"Nice to meet ya!" Natsuki said to Nanami with a smile.

"Likewise," Nanami replied plainly.

"Not much for conversation, huh? Anyway, I have a favor to ask, Yoshimura."

"Really? Why me?" Sachiko asked.

"I didn't feel comfortable asking anyone about it. Then, one of my classmates told me, 'You should ask Yoshimura, she's always helping everyone out!'"

"I don't know how much I can help, but I'll do my best! So, what's the favor?"

"Heh, I guess they were right about you! Like I said yesterday, I recently transferred, which means I'm not from around here. It's a little embarrassing, but I was wondering..." Natsuki glanced away, rubbing his neck and looking slightly flustered. "Maybe... if you could show me around town."

"Eh?" Nanami gasped.

"Sure! I'd be glad to!" Sachiko immediately answered.

"Eeh!?" Nanami gasped again.

"Really? Thanks a lot, I really mean it!" Natsuki bowed politely several times, showing his gratitude. "Then, can we meet up at the park tomorrow? I know where that is, since I pass it on the way to school. I'll see ya then!" He then headed back to the field to rejoin the team.

"Sachiko... do you know what you just agreed to?" Nanami asked.

"Hm? What?" Sachiko seemed blissfully unaware of the situation: a boy asking a girl to spend the day with him, looking nervous as he did so. In Nanami's mind, there was only one logical conclusion to come to.

"I think he just... asked you out..." Nanami's face began to turn slightly red as her voice trailed off. "...on a d, d, date..."

"You absolutely mustn't go-deshuuu!" came a familiar high-pitched voice from above the girls. They both looked up to see Flush quickly descending upon them.

"Flush!?" the girls gasped, shocked to see her at school in the open.

"What are you doing here?" Nanami asked her. "There's going to be a scene if anyone catches you here flying around and talking to us!"

"It gets lonely waiting at Sachiko's house," Flush said, "so I decided to follow you two today, and it's a good thing I did-deshu!" She then directed her attention towards Sachiko. "Sachiko, you can't go with him-deshu! I won't allow it-deshu!"

"Eh? Why not?" Sachiko asked.

"You have responsibilities as Precure now-deshu! You have to be ready to protect the world at any time-deshu! Can you imagine if the Greed Empire were to attack, and you went, 'Ah, I can't fight evil right now, I'm on a date!'?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about! He only asked me to show him around town, that's all!"

"Don't you think that's just an excuse to ask you out?" Nanami asked.

"Natsuki doesn't look like the kind of person who would lie."

"It's worse than I thought-deshu!" Flush gasped. "You're already on a first-name basis with each other-deshu!"

"Shh, keep your voice down! Someone's going to see us!" Just then, the school bell began chiming, signaling that classes would soon start. "Oh no! We're going to be late! We can talk about this later!" Sachiko quickly headed for the school building, leaving the others behind.

"Ah, wait-deshu!" Flush called out to Sachiko, but she was already out of earshot.

"It's alright, Flush," Nanami said. "That's just how she is, going at her own pace. Maybe it won't be so bad. It's just for one day, after all. Maybe that will be as far as it goes... maybe." She couldn't help being just a little bit concerned as she quickly followed her friend inside, leaving Flush behind.

"Ahh! Why is nobody taking this more seriously!?" Flush said as she thrashed about in frustration.

* * *

Inside the Greed Empire's casino, the three competitors were lined up, standing before the Emperor's servant. Behind him, the robotic arm above the monitor just disappeared into the wall holding Alvario's cube, and the scoreboard began to update:

 **Coveton - 27**

 **Rapacy - 21**

 **Alvario - 48**

Although the mask concealed his eyes, one could easily see the servant was disappointed. "All three of you have had a turn at collecting Fortune Energy," he started speaking, "and all three of you have performed quite poorly. It should have taken only one of you to completely drain that single city of Fortune Energy, and yet..." He shook his head in disbelief. "Of all the previous Rites of Succession, none have ever had such an embarrassing start. I'm beginning to wonder if we found the right candidates..."

"It's not our fault!" Rapacy objected. "It was those two Precure who got in the way! If it wasn't for them, I would've won this competiton by now!"

"Speak for yourselves," Coveton said, puffing out his chest and looking smug. "You two might have a problem dealing with them, but not I!"

"We fought two of them!" Alvario growled. "You only had to fight one, and you still lost!"

"Erk! Ah, well, you see..." Coveton's eyes darted back and forth as he started sweating. "I was... just testing the waters! Yes, that's it! I wasn't being serious about it! And now, I'll be more than ready for them this time!"

"I must once again remind you that your primary goal is to gather Fortune Energy for the competition, not to pursue some personal vendetta," the servant said.

"Pah! Just watch as I accomplish both! Those Precure will soon rue the day they crossed paths with the mighty Coveton! Haaaahahahahah!" He continued laughing loudly as he strode out of the casino.

* * *

The next day, in the park, Sachiko sat patiently at a bench with a small pink purse in hand, dressed in a light pink shirt with an image of two star outlines linked together, and a blue denim skirt.

"Yoshimura!" a voice called out to her. She looked around, and spotted Natsuki, dressed in a white t-shirt designed to look like a baseball jersey with the name 'Meteors' on it, brown shorts, and a black and white baseball cap. "You didn't wait too long, did you?" he asked.

"Not at all!" Sachiko replied as she got up from her seat. As the two began talking, from behind the nearby bushes, Nanami, wearing a simple, sky blue dress and sporting a pair of black-rimmed glasses, and Flush were maintaining a vigilant watch over them.

"I understand you're concerned," Nanami asked, "but why do I have to come along?"

"This concerns you as well-deshu!" Flush whispered back. "Sachiko is your friend, and friends should look out for each other-deshu! We have to make sure nothing fishy goes on between those two-deshu!"

"There's a difference between looking out for someone and spying on them!" Just then, Sachiko and Natsuki began walking away, heading out of the park.

"They're on the move-deshu! Let's go-deshu!" Before Flush could fly out of the bush and into plain sight, Nanami quickly grabbed her and pulled her back in.

"I think it would be better for everyone if you stayed close to me," Nanami said as she held onto Flush and began following Sachiko and Natsuki, staying far enough away to avoid being noticed by them.

* * *

As the day went on, Sachiko and Natsuki visited several different places across the city, unaware that they were being shadowed by Nanami and Flush. They started at game center, where they enjoyed some of the many games available, followed by the stadium, where events ranging from musical concerts to sports games are held. Eventually, they reached the shopping district, home to a wide variety of stores, where multiple small crowds of shoppers and pedestrians nearly filled the streets.

"So, what do you think so far?" Sachiko asked Natsuki as they made their way down the road.

"It's a lot bigger here than my last home, that's for sure," Natsuki said. "I've never seen this many people, either. How do you find your way through all of this?"

"I was born and raised here, so I know where just about everything is. Jizen City is called the city of fortune and opportunity; people from all kinds of places come here for a chance to change their luck for the better; that's why it's so busy all the time!"

"Changing their luck, huh..." Natsuki smiled. "I guess I can believe it now that I've moved here." Just then, as one of the crowds walked past, one of the people accidentally bumped into Sachiko from behind, causing her to fall forward. "Whoa, careful!" Natsuki quickly moved in front of her, catching her. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, th, thanks..." Sachiko said, still wrapped in Natsuki's arms, her face slowly turning red. "So warm..." she murmured to herself as she seemed to savor the brief moment.

"Hm? Did you say something?"

"Ah, nothing!" Sachiko immediately pulled herself away. "S-say, are you hungry? I know the perfect place, it's not far from here! This way!" As she led Natsuki further down the street, Nanami and Flush saw what had just happened from afar, mouths agape.

"See!? I told you-deshu!" Flush angrily whispered to Nanami. "Something's definitely going on-deshu!"

"It's too soon to jump to any conclusions," Nanami said. "We should keep watching to make sure nothing else happens." As the four of them headed further down the road, a sweet aroma slowly began to fill the air. Sachiko and Natsuki's pace slowed as they reached a building with a sign that read 'Fukubiki Bakery' over the entrance. Standing just outside of the building was Yukari, holding a basket full of various pastries and confections.

"Fresh pastries! Get them while they're still hot!" Yukari cried out, trying to get the attention of customers. "Baked fresh daily! Delicious treats that will brighten your day!"

"Mom! Over here!" Sachiko called to her, waving.

"Sachiko! What a surprise!" Yukari smiled, happy to see her daughter. She then noticed Natsuki standing next to her. "Oh, I've never seen you around before. Are you one of Sachiko's friends?"

"I guess you could say that," Natsuki replied, bowing politely. "Natsuki Kinboshi, it's nice to meet you, ma'am. I just moved here, and your daughter was showing me around town."

"Is that so? Well, I'm sure you'll fit right in here, most everybody does!" Yukari grabbed one of the pastries in the basket, still warm to the touch, and handed it to Natsuki. "Here, consider this my way of welcoming you to the neighborhood, free of charge!" She grabbed another pastry, and handed it to Sachiko. "And one for you too, Sachiko."

"Really!? Thank you very much!" Natsuki said happily.

"Thanks, mom! You're the best!" Sachiko said.

"Just remember to enjoy yoursel-" Yukari stopped when she looked past the two, and noticed Nanami in the distance. "Oh, it's Nanami! Nanami~! How are you?" she called out to her in a loud voice.

"Eep!" Nanami gasped as she immediately ducked out of sight, hiding among the passing crowds.

"Nanami? Are you sure?" Sachiko asked. "She told me she was going to be busy today."

"That can't be right, she's right over- hm?" Yukari looked again, but Nanami was nowhere to be seen. "That's odd... I guess I was seeing things. I should get back to work. Have fun, you two!" She waved goodbye to Sachiko and Natsuki as they continued on their way. After seeing the coast was clear, Nanami emerged from the crowd, breathing a sigh of relief.

"That was too close..." she said to herself.

"You almost blew our cover-deshu!" Flush whispered. "Ah, they're getting away-deshu! After them-deshu!"

"You're giving all the orders, but it seems that I'm doing all the work..." Nanami shook her head as she continued her pursuit.

* * *

The four of them found themselves back at the park where they started as Sachiko and Natsuki sat down at a bench to enjoy their snack.

"Thanks for the food!" Natsuki said as he took a bite of his pastry. The bread itself had a sweet flavor to it, and the inside was full of apple filling. "This is good! This is _really_ good!"

"I know, right?" Sachiko said. "My mom makes some of the best sweets in the city, but the very best ones are her special daifuku! They're absolutely heavenly! She sometimes adds one to customers' orders as a surprise, and once they have one, they end up coming back every day for a chance to get another!" She leaned in a little bit closer to him and started whispering. "Don't tell anyone, but sometimes, she makes some at home just for me! Just one of the perks of being the owner's daughter!"

"Your mom owns that bakery? That's pretty cool!" As the pair continued talking, Flush and Nanami continued to keep watch, once again from the bushes.

"Those two are uncomfortably close to each other-deshu," Flush said, looking at the two with judging eyes. "Veeery suspicious-deshu..."

"We've been following them all day," Nanami said, "and nothing really seems to be going on between them. I think you're worried about nothing, Flush." She waited for a response, but heard nothing. "...Flush?" She looked down at the fairy, whose gaze was now fixated on the Sachiko and Natsuki's pastries.

"They look so tasty-deshu..." she said to herself, smacking her lips.

"You've already lost focus..." Nanami sighed. Just then, her stomach unceremoniously grumbled, and she blushed in embarrassment. ' _I haven't eaten anything, either..._ ' she thought to herself.

"So, Natsuki, now that you know a little more about the city," Sachiko said, "it's your turn to tell me about you! What was your last home like? What about your family? Do you have any siblings? What are your hobbies?"

"Myself? Let's see..." Natsuki seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. "My old home was normal enough. It was a small neighborhood, so everyone knew each other. My big bro's in college, so it's just me and my mom at home right now."

"What about your dad?"

"He's on the road with the team he plays for, so he won't be home for a while. We aren't exactly on good terms at the moment, but don't worry about it." Natsuki smiled. "He'll get over it. That's what he gets for losing our bet."

"Bet? What do you mean?"

"Baseball kinda runs in the family. My dad plays, so did his dad, and my big bro, too. When I was little, I told him I wanted to play, too, but..." Natsuki's expression changed to one of irritation. "He didn't take me seriously, and that annoyed me more than anything. Since then, I practiced and trained every day, getting better and better. When he realized I wasn't going to let it go, we made a deal: if I could find a school that would let me join their team, he would move us all there. I wrote letters to just about every school, asking for a chance to join their baseball teams, and finally, one of them said yes. You should've seen the look on his face, his jaw nearly hit the ground!" He burst out laughing. "Anyway, he kept his end of the deal, and the rest is history. He didn't think I could pull it off, but here I am, against all odds." Natsuki got up from his seat, looking up at the sky. "And now that I'm here, I'm not going to waste this opportunity. I'll show everyone what I'm made of, and make it all the way to the top of the baseball world!" He then raised his hand in the air, clenching it as if he was taking hold of the sun shining in the sky. "Even if my chances are one in a million, I'll go for it with everything I've got!" Just then, Sachiko started giggling. "What's so funny?"

"Ah, sorry, sorry!" she apologized. "It's just I don't think I've ever seen anyone so passionate about something before. I think it's great you feel so strongly about it. It shows how much you really love baseball. I'm sure you'll make it! Luck will find a way to make it happen!"

"Luck, huh? I'd prefer to get there with my own effort, but a little luck wouldn't hurt, either." Natsuki chuckled as he sat back down. "Thanks for listening, Yoshimura, and for showing me around, I really mean it. We only just met, but I feel like we're good friends already."

"Don't worry about it! There is one question I have, though. Why would your dad make that kind of bet with you? Wouldn't it be easy for someone like you to join the baseball team?"

"Well, it's kinda hard to get into baseball these days when you're-"

"So, we finally cross paths again!" a familiar voice shouted out, interrupting Natsuki. They, along with Nanami and Flush, turned towards the source of the voice, and saw Coveton standing there, looking at Sachiko.

"It's you!" Sachiko gasped, springing up from her seat.

"It's the Greed Empire-deshu!" Flush said, her ears flopping wildly. "We have to do something, Nanami!"

"Right!" Nanami replied. She began to emerge from the bushes she was hiding in, but was pulled back by something, causing her to fall down. She looked behind her to see that some of the bushes' branches were snagged on her clothes. "Why now!?"

"Who's this weirdo?" Natsuki asked. "Someone you know?"

"Um, well..." Sachiko didn't know how to answer.

"Last time was just practice, but now I'm fully prepared!" Coveton said as he unsheathed his sword. "Now, prepare yourself!" Sachiko reached into her purse for her Fortune Module, but stopped.

' _Oh no,_ ' Sachiko thought, ' _I can't transform in front of Natsuki, but I can't just stand here doing nothing!_ '

"Heheheh, paralyzed by fear, I see. It's only natural to be so in my presence!" Coveton pointed his sword at Sachiko. "This will be no challenge at all!" Just then, Natsuki charged in, standing between the two of them.

"Hold on, now!" he shouted at Coveton. "What do you think you're doing, threatening a defenseless girl? Only bullies and cowards do that!"

"Coward? Did you just call the mighty Coveton a _coward_!? We'll see who's the coward when I take your Fortune Energy!" He held out his hand, calling out his cube. "Your luck has run out! Come out, Kyoujin!" The cube shot out bolts that struck one of the trees. In a burst of dark energy, it was transformed into a Kyoujin, with sturdy trunks as feet, leafy branches for arms, a red symbol on the front of its chest, and a pair of glowing eyes peering out from its boughs. Coveton leapt up, landing on one of the monster's branches as it began releasing black waves around it, striking people in the area and draining their Fortune Energy as others ran away in panic and fear.

"What the?" Natsuki's eyes widened as he saw people collapsing all around him. He glared angrily at Coveton and his Kyoujin, clenching his fists.

"Hahah, how do you like _that_? Now then, Kyoujin, ta-" Suddenly, Natsuki grabbed a nearby rock and hurled it at Coveton, striking his helmet as it rang out like a bell. The impact, in combination with the vibrations, caused Coveton to lose his balance as he came crashing to the ground.

"I ain't scared of you, buckethead, and I ain't running!" Natsuki taunted him. "Why don't you try picking on someone your own size!"

"Natsuki, what are you doing?" Sachiko asked, shocked by his actions.

"I'll distract him. That'll be your chance to get away!"

"You can't! It's too dangerous!"

"Don't worry about me." Natsuki glanced back to Sachiko, looking confident. "I've never backed down from a challenge yet, especially not when a friend needs me!"

"Why, you little...!" Coveton scrambled back to his feet, readjusting his helmet. "You'll pay for that!"

"You'll have to catch me, first!" Natsuki ran off in one direction, beckoning for Coveton and the Kyoujin to follow.

"You can't get away! After him!" Coveton glared at Sachiko. "Wait right there! I'll deal with you later!"

" _Kyoujin!_ " The monster gave chase, with Coveton following closely behind.

"As if I'm going to wait!" Sachiko yelled back at him, but he was already out of earshot.

"Sachiko!" Nanami called out to her as she and Flush approached.

"Nanami! Flush! What are you doing here? ...And why are you covered in leaves?" Sachiko pointed at the stray leaves still stuck in Nanami's clothes and hair.

"No time to explain!" she hastily replied, both due to the urgency of the situation, and not wanting to admit that she was spying on her.

"Transform-deshu!" Flush said. The girls nodded as they pulled out their Fortune Modules.

" **Precure! Fortune Wheel Change!** " They shouted out in unison, pulling down the levers on their Modules. In bright flashes of pink and blue, Sachiko and Nanami transformed.

"The shining light of happiness! Cure Lucky!"

"The tranquil wave of wisdom! Cure Chance!"

"Let's hurry," Cure Lucky said, "Natsuki's in danger!" The two Cures raced off, hoping to catch up in time.

* * *

Meanwhile, Natsuki continued to sprint down the path in front of him, managing to dodge the Kyoujin's draining blasts. However, he started to show signs of exhaustion as the distance between him and the monster began to slowly shrink.

' _They're persistent, I'll give 'em that,_ ' Natsuki thought. ' _At least I bought Yoshimura enough time to get away._ ' Suddenly, he felt himself lose his footing as he tripped, stumbling forward and hitting the ground. He managed to turn around only to see the tree Kyoujin towering over him.

"End of the line," Coveton said as caught up, grinning evilly. "Say your prayers!" The Kyoujin's symbol began glowing, and Natsuki shut his eyes, bracing for the inevitable end.

"No, you don't!" shouted a pair of voices. Out of nowhere, Lucky and Chance came flying in, ramming into the back of the Kyoujin simultaneously with powerful kicks. The Kyoujin was sent soaring over Natsuki and bounded off the ground several times before skidding to a halt. The two Cures landed between Natsuki and Coveton as Lucky turned to Natsuki.

"Are you alright?" she asked him.

"Who are you?" Natsuki asked, awestruck by what he was seeing.

"We're here to help! We can handle this, so get somewhere safe!"

"Wait! I was with a friend earlier! What about her?"

"Don't worry." Lucky smiled warmly, touched by Natsuki's concern. "She's fine now, thanks to you. Now hurry!"

"O-okay! Thanks, I owe you one!" Natsuki quickly got to his feet and fled the area.

"Precure! I see you finally found your nerve!" Coveton said, jumping away from them. "Don't think things will be the same as before! Kyoujin! Destroy them!"

" _Kyoujin!_ " The Kyoujin rose to its feet and held out its arms. The leaves at the end of them began glowing and suddenly shot forth repeatedly like machine gun rounds as they rocketed towards Lucky and Chance.

"Split up!" Chance said to Lucky as they quickly leapt away in opposite directions, the shots tearing apart the ground where they had been standing. They circled around the Kyoujin from both sides, but the monster turned its attention to Chance, continuing to fire leaves at her.

"An opening!" Lucky said as she positioned herself directly behind it and charged, ready to strike.

" _Kyoujin!_ " The Kyoujin looked over its shoulder to see Lucky approaching, and stomped the ground, burying its foot. Suddenly, a group of roots emerged directly under Lucky, wrapping around her and binding her in place.

"Lucky!" Chance hesitated for a brief moment when she saw her friend in trouble, allowing the volley of projectiles still aimed at her to find their mark. She cried out in pain as the Kyoujin stomped again with its other foot, and more roots appeared, constricting Chance. She and Lucky struggled to break free, but it seemed that the more they squirmed, the tighter the roots' grip on them became.

"Just as I said, no challenge at all!" Coveton said, laughing. "I didn't even have to break a sweat!"

"Why... are you doing this?" Lucky asked him, still struggling. "Are you only interested... in money, like Alvario?"

"Money? Pah! I'm not interested in something so base! What I want is power!" Coveton clenched his fist. "The kind of power that makes grown men cry at the mere mention of my name! Power to strike fear in the hearts of all who see me! Power to strike down anyone foolish enough to stand against me! And when I win this competition and become the new Greed Emperor, that's exactly what I'll get! I'll be just like the first Emperor reborn, an unstoppable conqueror!"

"And that's supposed to be any better?" Chance interjected. "You're no different than he was! You only care about yourself!"

"Natsuki was right," Lucky added, "you're just a bully and a coward! Picking on the weak, stealing their good luck and happiness...!"

"It's... _unforgivable!_ " The two of them shouted in perfect unison as a sudden surge of strength filled their bodies, and they broke free of the Kyoujin's clutches.

"No way!" Coveton gasped. Lucky and Chance both took hold of the roots and leapt straight up together, pulling with all their might.

" _Kyou!?_ " The Kyoujin was pulled down into the ground, effectively replanting the tree, a complete reversal of the previous situation.

"Lucky, now!" Chance called to her. Lucky nodded as she held out her arm, summoning her bow and taking aim.

" **Precure! Lucky Arrow Shooter!** " She let her arrow fly, striking the Kyoujin head-on.

" _Kyou...jin..._ " The monster moaned as its body dissipated, freeing the stolen Fortune Energy.

"Tch...!" Coveton gritted his teeth in anger. "Time for another tactical retreat! You'll pay for this, Precure!" He then vanished into thin air.

"Lucky! Chance!" Flush called out to them as she approached. "Good work, you two! With the two of you around, no one needs to be afraid of the Greed Empire-deshu!" Just then, one of the descending orbs of Fortune Energy burst open, revealing another map piece. "Ah, another map piece-deshu!"

"We just have to do this, right?" Lucky asked, holding out her Fortune Module and pressing the same button as before. The map piece began glowing and quickly flew into the Module's screen. Another portion of the display filled in, albeit a very small one. "Oh, this piece wasn't very big... but still, it's better than nothing!"

"Every little bit counts-deshu! We just have to keep working hard to find more pieces-deshu!"

"Natsuki's probably worried about me, so I better get going." Just as Lucky was about to run off, she suddenly paused. "But I still have to wonder..." She turned to Chance and Flush. "Why _were_ you two in the park right at that time? You told me you were going to be busy today."

"Eep!" Chance and Flush jumped back, surprised she still remembered. "Ah, well, you see... I, that is, we..." Chance struggled with words, fidgeting nervously. "...I have to go, see you later!" She then quickly leapt away, leaving Flush behind.

"Ah! Wait for me-deshu!" Flush frantically flew after her, flailing through the air as if swimming.

"Wait! ...They're gone." Lucky was baffled by their strange behavior, but shook her head. "No time to worry about it, now." She undid her transformation and headed in the direction of the park.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the park, Natsuki was busy searching for Sachiko. By the time he had gotten there, the damage from the battle had been mended, including the tree that had been turned into a Kyoujin. The people were going about their business, having no recollection of having been attacked.

"Yoshimura! Oi, Yoshimura!" he called her name. "Where are you!?"

"Natsuki! Over here!" Natsuki turned around and saw Sachiko standing behind him, waving.

"Thank goodness you're alright!" he said as he ran up to her.

"What about you?" Sachiko asked. "You let that monster chase after you! That was really dangerous!" She sounded upset at first, but slowly started blushing, knowing that he did it for her sake. "And... really brave..." her voice trailed off.

"Sorry I made ya worry. But something amazing happened: these two girls came flying out of nowhere, then _WHAM! BAM!_ They kicked that monster's butt! It was like something out of a movie! And look..." Natsuki pointed around the park. "Everything's suddenly back to normal, like that monster was never here. It's weird..." He took a deep breath. "What a day this turned out to be. So... I guess I'll see you around school, Yoshimura."

"That's enough of that. You don't have to call me Yoshimura. Just call me Sachiko!"

"Eh? Is that okay?"

"Of course! We're friends now, right? No need to be formal!" Sachiko smiled, repeating the same words he told her before. Natsuki was surprised by this for a moment, then returned a smile of his own.

"Heh, right! Okay then, Sachi!"

"Sachi?"

"Yeah, a little easier to say. Think of it as a nickname between friends! See ya later!" They waved goodbye to each other as they went their separate ways.

' _I guess I was right,_ ' Sachiko thought to herself as she placed her hand on her chest, her heart beating faster than usual. ' _I couldn't get any luckier! This could be the start of something big...!_ '

* * *

The very next day at school, as Sachiko was heading to class, a familiar voice called out to her.

"Sachi! Good morning!" She could tell right away who it was.

"Natsuki! Good mo-" Sachiko turned around to greet him, but stopped when she saw Natsuki wearing a tan blazer and red pleated skirt, identical to her own uniform in every way. "...Eh?"

"Just wanted to say thanks again for yesterday," Natsuki said. "I'd probably have gotten lost if I tried looking around the city myself. You really are a lucky charm, or whatever it is everyone calls you."

"Those clothes... Y-you, you're..." Sachiko trembled as she pointed at Natsuki.

"Hm? What's up?" Natsuki didn't seem to notice what was wrong.

"... _A girl!?_ " Sachiko shouted out loud, grabbing the attention of everyone in the hallway.

"Of course I'm a girl," Natsuki said nonchalantly. "Didn't I tell you that yesterday?" Sachiko fervently shook her head.

"No, you didn't!"

"I didn't? Hmm... oh right, because that guy in the weird getup interrupted me right when I was getting to it. But yeah, that's why it was so hard for me to join a baseball team. Sorry, I wasn't trying to trick you or anything. Besides, you aren't the first one to make that mistake." Natsuki laughed flippantly.

"I see... ahah, hah..."

"Well, I gotta get going. Later, Sachi!" Natsuki waved as she headed off.

"Uuu... no way..." Sachiko groaned as she hung her head in disappointment. Just then, Nanami had entered the hallway and noticed Sachiko in her slump.

"Sachiko, are you alright?" Nanami asked as she approached her. "You don't look well. Do you need to visit the nurse's office?"

"I think I do..." Sachiko murmured in response. Though this probably wasn't exactly how she envisioned how things would turn out, the fact remained that she had made an interesting new friend.

* * *

 _Sachiko: Nanami, it's time for the showdown!_

 _Nanami: What showdown?_

 _Sachiko: Against your destined rival, of course!_

 _Nanami: What rival? I don't have a rival!_

 _Sachiko: Oh Nanami, you're so modest as always! Now, show us your fighting spirit!_

 _Nanami: I really don't know what you mean! Next time, on Lucky*Pretty Cure!_

 _ **Challenge Accepted! Nanami's Rival**_

 _Next time will be super lucky, too!_

* * *

 **Kinboshi Natsuki** \- 金星 夏木 - "voiced" by Miyuki Sawashiro (Suruga Kanbaru - Bakemonogatari, Towa Akagi/Cure Scarlet - Go! Princess Precure)


	6. Nanami's Rival

**Lucky*Pretty Cure!**

 **by Exdeathmore**

* * *

 _~Five Years Ago~_

A young Nanami stood outside a building, sobbing to herself as two rough-looking boys looked on.

"It's not true..." Nanami said. "It's not true...!" She continued to repeat the words between sobs.

"Look, she's crying!" one of the boys said.

"Serves you right!" the other boy added, laughing.

"Stop that right now!" a voice shouted at them. The boys turned to see Sachiko come out of the building, running towards them. "Leave her alone, or I'm telling the teacher!"

"Let's get out of here!" The two boys ran off in a panic, not wanting to get in trouble.

"Are you okay, Nanami?" Sachiko asked as she checked on her. "Did they hurt you?" Nanami looked up at her friend, her eyes full of tears. "Nanami...?"

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Challenge Accepted! Nanami's Rival**

 _~Present Day~_

In one of the hallways of the school, a large crowd of students gathered around a bulletin board. On the board was a listing of the top scorers on the last exam. Nanami and Sachiko slowly wormed their way past the other students until they could get a clear view of the list. At the top of the list was the name "Nanami Takamoto".

"Ooh!" Sachiko's eyes widened as she placed her hands on Nanami's shoulders. "You made the top score again! Way to go, Nanami! You must be the smartest person in school!"

"Th, that's not true..." Nanami said. "Anyone could do it with enough effort. Come on, let's go before-"

"Hmhmhm... so, you were bold enough to deny me my rightful place, weren't you... Nanami Takamoto!" A voice came from behind the girls. They turned around to see a female student with sky blue eyes and silvery hair, tied into two perfectly shaped spirals, like a pair of drills on either side. She had an air of haughtiness about her as she stood with her hands on her hips, facing off with Nanami.

"Excuse me?" Nanami asked with a puzzled look.

"The listing. Take another look." The girl pointed at the bulletin board. Sachiko and Nanami read the list again, and took note of the name directly under Nanami's.

"Yuri Tachibana?" Sachiko read the name aloud. "Is that you?"

"That's right," Yuri replied. "And you, Nanami Takamoto..." She then pointed dramatically at Nanami. "...are my destined rival!" she declared loudly, grabbing the attention of the other students.

"What's going on?" the students began whispering amongst themselves.

"Looks like she's at it again," another student said. "Now it's Takamoto's turn. This'll be interesting..."

"Rival?" Sachiko's eyes sparkled with excitement. "That sounds so cool!"

' _Why are_ you _the one getting excited?_ ' Nanami thought as she looked at her. "I don't understand how I can be your rival," she said to Yuri. "Test scores aren't a contest, and I wasn't trying to 'win' anything."

"That's where you're wrong," Yuri objected. "Everything is a contest! Tests, karaoke, finishing dinner... someone has to be first, and that someone is going to be me. Every student should aspire to be more like me. I am the gold standard, after all!"

"Gold standard? More like 'Silver Medal'," one of the students commented. Yuri doubled over at the remark, while several others snickered.

"'Silver Medal'?" Sachiko asked, not getting the joke.

"She's always trying to be the best in everything," the student explained, "but no matter what, she always ends up in second place, and whoever she loses to becomes her 'destined rival'. She has about a dozen of them now."

"A-anyway!" Yuri interrupted, pointing at Nanami again. "Nanami Takamoto! I refuse to accept this outcome! I demand a rematch, another contest of wits!"

"..." Nanami was silent for a moment, then turned her head, avoiding looking Yuri in the eye. "...I'm sorry, but as I said before, I'm not trying to compete with anyone. There's no point to any of this."

"Wha!? Y, you're refusing my challenge?" Yuri was taken aback for a moment, but quickly regained her composure. "Hmhmhm... I understand. You're afraid... afraid of losing to me!"

"Don't say such ridiculous things." Nanami turned to Sachiko. "I'm heading back to class. Make sure you aren't late." She then walked away, not paying any heed to Yuri.

"Gnnn...!" Yuri clenched her teeth. "This isn't over! Not until I'm satisfied! Hmph!" She stormed off, pouting all the way as the crowd of students slowly began to disperse.

"She looks really upset," Sachiko said, looking concerned. "I hope she doesn't take it personally..."

"Don't worry about Yuri," the student from before said to her. "She's not a bad person, just really excitable and competitive. Takamoto should take it as a compliment that she sees her as a rival. It means she really _is_ the best at something."

"Hmm..." Sachiko was left to her thoughts as she returned to class.

* * *

Time went on, and the final bell of the day rang. Even as all the other students collected their belongings and left, Nanami sat at her desk in class, nose-deep in a book. She was completely unaware of Sachiko sneaking up behind her.

"Na~nami!" Sachiko called to her in a playful tone as she placed her hands on Nanami's shoulders.

"Wah!" Nanami gasped, dropping her book. She turned around to see Sachiko, and sighed. "Geez, don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry, couldn't help it!" Sachiko giggled. "It's like you're in another world whenever you start reading something you like. So, what is it this time?"

"It's a book about chess. It talks about its origins, how it spread across the world in different forms, and how the game has developed to become more competitive in the present day. It even teaches you basic and advanced strategies."

"Really? I didn't know you were into that kind of thing. So you already know how to play?"

"Of course. I love all kinds of puzzles, and to me, chess is a puzzle you play with another person. It's all about analyzing all of your options, and predicting how your opponent will act..." As Nanami continued talking, Sachiko didn't understand a lot of what she was talking about, but noticed the warm and gentle expression as she spoke. Seeing this put a smile on Sachiko's face. "Unfortunately, I've only ever had a chance to play against myself. If you want, I could teach you how to play. It'd be nice to have a real opponent for once."

"So!" A familiar voice interrupted the conversation. "You're a chess player, are you?" The girls turned to see Yuri standing just inches away from them.

"Wah!" they gasped at the same time, spooked by her sudden appearance.

"H-how long have you been there?" Sachiko asked Yuri.

"Long enough," Yuri replied. "Let me ask again: you're familiar with chess, aren't you, Nanami Takamoto?"

"What's your point?" Nanami asked.

"I just happen to be an avid player myself. It also happens that there's an upcoming chess tournament at the community center tomorrow." She pulled out a flyer advertising the tournament. "I was already planning to enter, but it will be the perfect stage to settle the score between us! Unless, you really _are_ afraid of losing to me?" Hearing this, Nanami turned her head again. Sachiko noticed this, and remembered that she did the same thing earlier in the hallway. She decided that she couldn't sit by and do nothing.

"...I told you before, I-"

"Nanami's not afraid!" Sachiko interrupted before she could answer. "She'll take you on!"

"Wha-!" Nanami gasped, looking at Sachiko with wide eyes.

"Good!" Yuri said, nodding with approval. "Remember, tomorrow at the community center. Registration starts in the morning. I'll be waiting!" She promptly turned around and strolled out of the classroom.

"Don't worry, Nanami," Sachiko said, "you'll win for..." She stopped when she noticed Nanami was clearly upset.

"Wh... why did you say that!?" Nanami snapped at her. "I'm not interested in something like that!"

"You're lying." Sachiko's expression suddenly turned serious. "I saw how you were reading that book earlier, the way you were smiling when you talked. I also know you turn your head when you're trying to hide something. Why can't you say what's really on your mind?" An awkward silence hung over them.

"...I don't need you to speak for me. Just... just mind your own business!" Nanami grabbed her books and quickly left the room, leaving Sachiko in shock.

"Nanami..." Sachiko did nothing to stop her as she looked down in disappointment.

* * *

Later, at Sachiko's home, Flush was inside Sachiko's room, struggling to push the closet door shut.

"Just... a little... further-deshu..." she grunted to herself between breaths. Whatever was on the other side of the door was offering a lot of resistance.

"I'm home," Sachiko said as she entered the room.

"W-welcome back-deshu!" Flush greeted her hastily, bracing herself up against the closet door. "As you can see, I took the liberty of cleaning your room while you were away-deshu!"

"Wow, you're right!" Sachiko noticed that the room was much cleaner than when she left that morning. "Did you really do this by yourself? You're amazing, Flush!"

"Th-this is... nothing-deshu! I'm the personal attendant... of the princess back in the... Grace Kingdom, after all-uwaaahh!" Suddenly, the opposing force inside the closet forced its way through, and Flush was instantly buried under a pile of clutter.

"Flush!" Sachiko gasped as she rushed over, pulling the clutter off of her. "Are you okay?"

"Although, I wasn't her attendant for very long-deshu..."

"It's alright. I can clean it up later." Sachiko gently picked up Flush. "I appreciate the effort, though." She tried to smile, but the events at school continued to weigh on her mind as she let out a sigh.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Nanami got mad at me again. I don't blame her, but I don't think I did anything wrong, either. It's... complicated."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Flush flapped her long ears up and down. "If there's one thing I'm good at, it's listening-deshu."

"Thanks, it's good to have someone to talk to." Sachiko sat down on her bed, holding Flush in her lap.

* * *

At that time, Nanami had just arrived at her house. It was slightly larger than the neighboring houses, implying that her family earned more than average. After locking the front gate behind her, she gazed at the house and took a deep breath, preparing for another quiet afternoon as she opened the front door.

"I'm home," Nanami said halfheartedly as she took off her shoes. As she looked down at the floor, she noticed an extra pair of shoes set aside, and the scent of something delicious began filling the air.

"Welcome home, Nanami," came a voice from around the corner. A young woman with hazel eyes and long blue hair the same shade as hers stepped into view, a gentle smile on her face.

"Mother?" Nanami was surprised to see her. "You're home early."

* * *

After Sachiko explained what happened at school, Flush nodded in comprehension.

"I see..." she said, "but I don't understand, either-deshu. Why wouldn't she want to enter this tournament?"

"The answer is simple," Sachiko answered. "Prepare yourself, because I'm about to tell you one of Nanami's biggest secrets..."

"Ooh...!" Flush's ears perked up in anticipation.

"Her secret is..."

"Is...!?" Flush inched closer. Sachiko leaned over and began whispering into Flush's ear.

"...she's actually really shy!"

"Hm, I see-deshu..." Flush nodded. It took a moment for the answer to sink in. "... _Eeeehhh!?_ No way-deshu! The way she's always brutally honest with you, and how she drills you during your study sessions, she's anything but shy-deshu!"

"That's true. She has no problem around friends and family, but she hardly ever talks to anyone else unless it's important. I'm her only real friend at school, and she doesn't try to get close with anyone else."

"Was she always like that?" Flush asked.

"She was always a little bit shy," Sachiko explained, "but it got worse about five years ago. Nanami was really smart, smarter than all the other students. She would always be the first to answer problems in class, and the teachers praised her for it all the time. One day after school, Nanami was waiting for me outside when..."

* * *

 _~Five Years Ago~_

As the sun began to go down over the city, a young Nanami patiently waited by the school building's gates for Sachiko to come. As she did, two rough-looking boys came out of the building. They spotted Nanami and approached her.

"There's the teacher's pet," one of the boys said. "You must think you're so special just because you're so smart."

"Huh?" Nanami was confused.

"Everyone thinks you're just a show-off, trying to make the rest of us look bad!" the other boy said to her.

"What? That's not...!"

"Nobody wants to be friends with a know-it-all like you!" The boys' words stung Nanami deeply, as tears began welling up in her eyes.

"It's not true..." Nanami said. "It's not true...!" She continued to repeat the words between sobs.

"Look, she's crying!" the first boy said.

"Serves you right!" the second boy added, laughing.

"Stop that right now!" a voice shouted at them. The boys turned to see Sachiko come out of the building, running towards them. "Leave her alone, or I'm telling the teacher!"

"Let's get out of here!" The two boys ran off in a panic, not wanting to get in trouble.

"Are you okay, Nanami?" Sachiko asked as she checked on her. "Did they hurt you?" Nanami looked up at her friend, her eyes full of tears. "Nanami...?"

"Sachiko... Sachiko!" Nanami suddenly wrapped her arms around her friend. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry...! Please don't hate me!" She continued crying as Sachiko tried to comfort her, confused as to what happened.

* * *

 _~Present Day~_

"...Ever since," Sachiko continued, "Nanami lost a lot of her confidence, and she's been afraid of making others jealous and hurting their feelings. She never even told her parents what happened that day."

"Why not?" Flush asked.

"Her parents are really busy all the time. They both do important work, and she didn't want to add to their worries." Sachiko smiled warmly. "Nanami's the nicest person I know. Even though she can seem distant at times, she's always thinking and worrying about others, though she needs to be more honest with her own feelings. She works hard to make everyone happy, but she deserves to be happy, too."

"Uuu..." Flush sobbed. "I'm so jealous-deshu... You're such a good friend, she's so lucky to have you-deshu..."

"What are you jealous about? You're our friend too, you know. And as Nanami's friends, we're going to be at the community center tomorrow to cheer her on!"

"Eh? But you said she didn't want to go-deshu. What if she doesn't show up?"

"Don't worry, everything will work out fine in the end. Luck will find a way, as long as we don't give up on her."

* * *

Meanwhile, at Nanami's house, she and her mother Asami were seated at a table, enjoying a delicious meal. Nanami usually aren't home in time for dinner, so she typically prepared and ate her meals alone.

"You didn't have to make dinner," Nanami said, slightly flustered. "I could have made it..."

"Don't be silly, Nanami," Asami said. "What kind of mother would I be if I didn't make dinner for my own child once in a while? If only your father were here to enjoy it, too."

"It can't be helped, since he's on the other side of the world right now on business."

"I just wish he would come home and work at the hospital here. That way, we could be together every day." Asami sighed. "Anyway, how is school? Are you getting along with everyone?"

"It's fine," Nanami replied plainly. "The latest test results were posted today. I made the list of top scorers." She intentionally left out that she made the highest grade of them all.

"How about Sachiko? You're always studying together, so she must have done good, too."

"Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing her name there," Nanami said. "Even after all our study sessions... she really is hopeless." She shook her head in disbelief, and Asami suddenly started giggling. "What's so funny?"

"You say that, but you're really just worried about her," she said. "You two have been close ever since you met, almost like sisters."

"It can't be helped. Who else is going to take care of her? She can't help sticking her nose in other people's business. Always agreeing to favors without a second thought, always trying... to..." Her words trailed off. She seemed frozen as she was lost in thought.

"Nanami...?" Asami tried to get her attention. "Is everything alright?" Without a word, Nanami quickly finished eating the rest of her dinner, then got up from her seat.

"Thank you for the meal. Please excuse me." Nanami headed for her room, leaving her mother baffled at her sudden behavior. The inside of her room was tidy and organized, not one thing out of place. She closed the door behind her, looking at a book lying on her desk: the same book on chess she was reading at school.

* * *

The next morning, Sachiko and Flush arrived at the community center, waiting for Nanami to show up. The tournament attracted a sizable crowd, so the two kept their eyes peeled for any sign of their friend.

"I don't see her-deshu," Flush whispered to Sachiko. "What if she doesn't come?"

"She'll come," Sachiko whispered back. "Don't worry..." Despite her words, she couldn't help but be slightly worried. As she continued to look around, she spotted a familiar face. At the registration table by the entrance of the building was Yuri, who had just finished filling out her form. As she stepped away from the table, she noticed Sachiko as well.

"Oh, it's you," Yuri said as she walked up to her. "You're Nanami's friend, correct? So, where is my destined rival?"

"She's... running late," Sachiko said worriedly. "I'm sure she'll be here any-"

"I'm right here," a voice interrupted. Sachiko and Yuri saw Nanami approaching with a stern look on her face.

"So, you finally show yourself," Yuri said, smiling. "You look like you have something to say."

"I wanted to tell you something yesterday," Nanami said to Yuri, "but I didn't get the chance, so I'll say it now."

' _Is she going to turn her down again?_ ' Sachiko thought as looked on. Nanami was about to turn her head again, but stopped herself. She took a deep breath, then looked Yuri firmly in the eye.

"...I look forward to our match," she finally said.

"Nanami...!" Sachiko's eyes widened in surprise.

"Likewise," Yuri nodded. "I also look forward to winning!" She pointed at Nanami. "You better bring your best, because I won't be satisfied with less!" She headed inside the building as Nanami turned to Sachiko.

"Sachiko, I-" Before Nanami could finish talking, she was suddenly embraced by her friend.

"Nanami!" Sachiko shouted excitedly. "Thank goodness!"

"Wh, what's gotten into you?" Nanami blushed, flustered and embarrassed.

"I'm just so happy right now! I knew you wouldn't run away!"

"What made you change your mind?" Flush asked.

"I remembered something," Nanami said. "Something very important..."

* * *

 _~One Year Ago~_

Nanami stood in front of a bulletin board at school. The board was overflowing with various flyers advertising for all the clubs and organizations in the school. She was eyeing one flyer in particular, but then turned away from it with a look of uncertainty.

"Nanami!" a familiar voice called to her. Nanami noticed Sachiko approaching, looking cheerful as always. "Are you going to join any clubs this year?" she asked.

"I don't think so," Nanami replied. "What about you?"

"I haven't even looked yet. Let's see... ah, how about this one?" Sachiko pointed at one of the flyers, the same one Nanami was looking at earlier. It was a request for applicants for the school's student council.

"Student council?" Nanami was surprised. "I don't think it's a very good match for you..."

"I'm talking about you, silly! You'd be perfect for it!"

"Me? I don't know if I can do something like that..."

"Don't worry! If anyone can do it, it's you!" Sachiko gave Nanami a thumbs-up. "If you have any problems, you know I'm always here to help, any time!" Hearing her words of encouragement, Nanami took another look at the flyer, and a glint of interest appeared in her eyes.

* * *

 _~Present Day~_

"Sachiko was the one who encouraged me to join the student council when we started middle school," Nanami explained. "When I doubted myself and shyed away, she was there supporting me, just like now. I'm sorry I didn't remember it sooner. I don't want to let your efforts, your feelings, be wasted. Besides..." she smiled. "It'd be nice to have a real opponent for once."

"Right!" Sachiko nodded. "Flush and I will be rooting for you! Good luck!" As she and Flush headed inside the community center, Nanami headed for the registration table.

* * *

The inside of the community center was spacious, designed to be able to hold a wide variety of events. Several chess tables were set up for the players, with large monitors displaying a top-down view of each one so the spectators could have a clear view of every move and match without being in the way. From the sidelines, Sachiko and Flush nervously watched Nanami's matches, silently rooting for her. Though there seemed to be several close calls, Nanami was always able to recover, winning out against her opponents. Likewise, Yuri masterfully maneuvered her way through her matches. During the semifinal round, the two of them occasionally peered over their opponents' shoulders, locking gazes with each other. Finally, the final round of the tournament arrived, the match being between Nanami and Yuri. The other tables and monitors were removed as the air grew thick with tension. The two finalists approached the table and faced each other.

"May the best one win," Nanami said, offering Yuri a handshake.

"I intend to," Yuri replied, extending her hand as well.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting!" a voice came from above them. Everyone looked up towards the ceiling to see Rapacy hovering above them. She gently floated down to the ground, landing between Nanami and Yuri, forcing them to step back. "The star of the show has finally arrived! I'm ready for my standing ovation!" The audience was struck speechless by both her sudden appearance and her revealing attire.

"You!" Nanami gasped, taking a defensive stance.

"Who are you?" Yuri asked. "How dare you interrupt my match with my destined rival!"

"Hm?" Rapacy looked to each side at the girls, then saw the chess table behind her. "...You mean to tell me these people are here to watch _chess_?" She let out a sigh. "I came here because I saw another crowd, and again I'm disappointed. Is _this_ what passes for entertainment in this world? Sorry, but the show has been cancelled, due to a severe outbreak of misfortune!" She held out her hand, and her Kyoujin cube appeared. "Your luck has run out! Come on out, Kyoujin!" The cube shot out a bolt that struck the chess table, making it erupt in a burst of dark energy that knocked Nanami and Yuri away.

" _Kyoujin!_ " Emerging from the darkness was a large, black Kyoujin adorned with a crown bearing its symbol and wielding a scepter. Its appearance resembled the king piece of a chess set, with a human-like upper half and a solid, sturdy base. The spectators wasted no time in racing for the exits, screaming and shouting all the way.

"Ah, sweet music to my ears!" Rapacy said delightfully. "Kyoujin, make them squeal some more!"

" _Game, start!"_ The king Kyoujin tapped the ground with its scepter, and the ground began to twist and warp, transforming into a large checkerboard pattern. From the black and white squares, an army of various chess piece Kyoujins emerged. The pawns, armed with swords, fired a volley of black bolts from the blades' tips at the crowd, striking several of them and draining their Fortune Energy. One of the pawns then turned it's attention to Yuri, who was still nearby.

"Wh-what are these things!?" Yuri asked, trying to scramble away. The pawn pointed its sword at her, and fired a single black bolt.

"Look out!" Nanami shouted. She dove towards Yuri, pushing the two of them out of the path of the bolt. Nanami quickly got up and helped Yuri to her feet. "It's dangerous here! You have to run!"

"What about you?"

"I'll be right behind you! Just go, and don't look back!" Yuri nodded, and did as she was told, heading out the nearest exit.

"Nanami!" Sachiko called out to her as she and Flush approached.

"Transform-deshu!" Flush said. The girls nodded as they pulled out their Fortune Modules.

" **Precure! Fortune Wheel Change!** " They pulled down on the levers, and in a bright flash, they transformed.

"The shining light of happiness! Cure Lucky!"

"The tranquil wave of wisdom! Cure Chance!"

"You two again..." Rapacy grumbled, gripping her whip tightly. "That's twice you've come to ruin my fun!"

"Fun?" Chance asked. "You think terrorizing innocent people is fun?"

"Of course, there's no greater pleasure! The only problem is that they keep running away, but once I win this competition and become the new Greed _Empress_ , they'll have no choice but to stay and be my personal playthings forever!"

"Eh...?" Lucky and Chance couldn't find the words to describe what they heard.

"I don't expect children to understand the refined tastes of a lady such as me. And don't think you'll win this time, you're completely outnumbered!"

"It doesn't matter how many there, we won't lose to you!" Lucky said, taking a battle-ready stance.

"Wait," Chance said, motioning to the Kyoujins. "Look. The king is the only one with that symbol, and it called the others. If we stop it, the others might stop, too."

"Okay, piece of cake! Let's do it!"

"Enough chitchat!" Rapacy said, leaping behind the Kyoujin army. "Attack!" With a crack of her whip, the pawns charged forward, swinging their swords. Lucky and Chance met them head on, easily knocking them away with single blows. As they continued to advance, a staff-wielding bishop Kyoujin glided towards Chance, sweeping back and forth in a zigzagging motion. Chance raised her arms in defense, blocking the staff and locking the two of them in place. Meanwhile, Lucky spotted a clear, straight path between her and the king Kyoujin.

"Wide open!" Lucky shouted, calling out her bow. " **Precure! Lucky Arrow Shooter!** " She immediately fired an arrow at the king.

"Go, Cure Lucky, go!" Flush cheered her on from the sidelines.

" _Castle!_ " the king bellowed, raising its scepter. Just before the arrow reached its mark, it vanished, and in its place was a rook Kyoujin, holding up a large shield. The arrow struck the shield and bounced off, breaking apart and dissipating.

"No way!" Before Lucky could react, the rook suddenly charged, ramming itself into her. She tried to push back, but to little avail as she felt herself slowly being pushed away.

"No fair-deshu!" Flush shouted. "That's cheating-deshu!" Meanwhile, Chance finally gathered enough strength to break the deadlock against the bishop, knocking its staff to the side and kicking it away. Past it, she spotted the king, out in the open and vulnerable.

"There it is!" Chance said. Just then, she spotted a lance-wielding knight Kyoujin hopping towards Lucky, who was still struggling against the rook to keep from being flattened by it. The knight lowered its lance, ready to charge. "Lucky! Look out!" She rushed towards the knight, kicking it out of the way. She then joined Lucky in pushing back against the rook, and as it began to tilt, a combined punch from the pair toppled it, sending it crashing down.

"I thought I was done for," Lucky said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Chance."

" _Reset!_ " The king Kyoujin tapped the ground with its scepter. The fallen pieces disappeared, then reappeared around the king, reinforcing its position.

"Eeh!? We're back where we started!"

"Hmph, pathetic," Rapacy mocked Chance. "You had a perfect shot at the king, yet you stopped to help her."

"Of course I did," Chance said. "Lucky's my friend!"

"Friend...?" Rapacy's face tensed up at the mention of the word. "Hmph, what nonsense. Friends do nothing but drag you into things you don't want, and hold you back from the things that you do, just like she's doing to you now." She pointed at Lucky. "You're far better off without that dead weight around your ankles."

"You're wrong! Sure, she's hopelessly optimistic, doesn't know how to say 'no', and can be a busybody at times..."

"Um..." Lucky didn't know if Chance forgot she was standing right next to her.

"...but not once did I ever feel held back by her, just the opposite! When I was holding _myself_ back, she was the one who helped push me forward. Where I act with my brain, she acts with her heart. We support each other when we need it the most, and I won't allow you to mock our friendship!"

"Chance...!" Lucky was both surprised and glad to finally hear her friend speak her mind.

"Fine! Let's see if your friendship can withstand another beating!" Rapacy shouted.

"What are we going to do?" Lucky asked. "There's no way to tell how they're going to move."

"There is," Chance said. "Our opponents are chess pieces. Chess is all about strategy, so we'll use strategy to win this fight!"

" _Kyoujin!_ " The king pointed his scepter at the girls, and the swarm of pawn Kyoujins began its charge once more.

"Push past one, and keep going!" Chance instructed. Lucky and Chance easily knocked away the pawns directly in front of them. As they pushed through, the pawns on their sides tried to attack, but ended up smashing into each other instead, while the remaining ones continued moving forward, ignoring the two completely.

"Hey, where are you going!?" Rapacy yelled at the straying pawns.

"Ah, it worked!" Lucky said. "How did you know?"

"Pawns can only move forward," Chance explained, "and can only attack from an angle." Up ahead, the bishop began advancing, heading towards Lucky this time. Chance watched the floor, and noticed the bishop moving along only the black squares. "Quickly, move to a white square!" she shouted to Lucky.

"Okay!" Lucky nodded, stepping into the nearest white square. The bishop came closer and closer, raising its staff, ready to strike. "It's getting closer...!" She started getting nervous.

"Stay where you are! Trust me!" Just when it looked like the bishop would collide with Lucky, it instead began circling her continuously, unable to enter the white space she was standing in. "Bishops can only move in one color!"

"I see!" Lucky made a sweeping kick around her, tripping the bishop. She then gave it a swift kick, sending it rolling into other Kyoujins, toppling them as well. "Strike!" she cheered.

"That's bowling, not chess-deshu!" Flush commented.

' _If the king is vulnerable, it'll probably do_ that _again...!_ ' Chance thought as she looked around the battlefield once more. Past the fallen Kyoujins, she spotted the king Kyoujin, and another rook a short distance away from it. "Over there! **Precure!** " She began preparing her attack.

" _Castle!_ " the king shouted, raising its scepter.

' _The same trick won't work twice!_ ' Chance suddenly turned, aiming towards the rook. " **Chance Crystal Cascade!** " A torrent of water shot forth from her hands, and just before it reached the rook, it vanished, and in its place stood the king. The water rushed over it and froze, encasing the king in an icy jewel.

" _Check...mate...!_ " The Kyoujin moaned. The ice and the Kyoujin dissipated, releasing the stolen Fortune Energy into the air. As it rained down, the floor began shifting again, returning to its original state.

"No, not again!" Rapacy screamed, lashing her whip back and forth in frustration. "I'll remember this, Precure!" As she vanished, one of the globes of light floated down in front of Chance, bursting open and revealing a map piece.

"Another map piece-deshu!" Flush exclaimed. Chance held out her Fortune Module and pressed the button on the panel, and the map piece flew into the screen. The display of the collected pieces updated, and another portion of the map was filled in.

"We're one step closer to finding the Fortune Chest," Chance said with a smile. "Come on, let's get going." She, Lucky, and Flush decided to head out through an alternate exit to avoid being seen.

* * *

With the danger having passed, and the damage caused by Rapacy undone, the chess tournament continued. The air grew thick with tension as Nanami and Yuri squared off against each other. Back and forth, they maneuvered their pieces across the board, tiny beads of sweat trickling down their faces, until finally...

"...Mate," Nanami said as she placed the final piece in position. Yuri took a long look at the board, and saw there was no way to avoid the situation. She turned the king to its side, the sign of resignation. "Thank you for the match." Nanami got up from her seat and offered her hand to Yuri. Yuri did the same as the audience applauded. As they finished shaking hands, Yuri was frowning, and Nanami thought that her feelings may have been hurt from losing.

"Hmph," Yuri grunted, "victory is yours once again, Nanami Takamoto..." However, instead of getting angry, she suddenly started smiling. "But don't think this is over! Every defeat only makes me fight harder! One day, I'll climb out of your shadow, and take my rightful place at the top!"

"Tachibana..." Nanami was surprised, and began smiling as well. "...Right. I'll keep doing my best, too! If you ever want a rematch, I'll accept your challenge any time."

"Hmhmhm... of course! You _are_ my destined rival, after all!"

' _I'm glad for you, Nanami,_ ' Sachiko thought as she watched. ' _Not only are you getting past your shyness, but I think you just made a new friend, too. All in all, things have turned out super lucky for you!_ '

* * *

 _Sachiko: Finally, the secret origins of Sachiko and Nanami will be revealed!_

 _Flush: What are you talking about?_

 _Nanami: She's talking about when we first met, though it's not really a secret._

 _Flush: I want to hear it anyway-deshu!_

 _Sachiko: Hmhmhm, very well... Next time, on Lucky*Pretty Cure!_

 _ **Sachiko and Nanami: A Lucky Chance Encounter  
**_

 _Next time will be super lucky, too!_

* * *

 **Yuri Tachibana** \- "voiced" by Maaya Uchida (Rikka Takanashi - Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!, Ranko Kanzaki - THE iDOLM STER: Cinderella Girls)


	7. A Lucky Chance Encounter

**Lucky*Pretty Cure!**

 **by Exdeathmore**

* * *

"...And that's it for the weather report," the announcer declared. Sachiko sat in front of the television at her house, with Flush laying comfortably in her lap, as she eagerly awaited the next segment of the program.

"You're awfully excited-deshu," Flush commented. "Is something about to happen?"

"Only the most important part of every morning," Sachiko replied.

"Now, it's time for today's horoscope," the announcer continued. "For all you Cancers out there, your luck today is..."

"Is...!" As Sachiko inched closer to the television, barely able to contain her excitement, she grabbed Flush by the cheeks and began pinching them.

"Sashiko, it hursh-deshu...!" Flush tried to get her attention, but to no avail.

"...good! No gloom or misfortune will muddy your day, so go outside and enjoy it!"

"I knew it!" Sachiko cheered as she released her grip and Flush fell over. "Ah, Flush! I'm sorry! Are you okay?"

"I'm... okay-deshu..." Flush groaned, rubbing her now red cheeks.

"Speaking of outside," the broadcast resumed, "flower viewing season is here! Cherry trees across the country are in full bloom!" The image changed to various shots of parks full of blooming cherry trees, with crowds of happy people enjoying themselves as petals rained gently around them.

"Ahh!" Flush gasped, springing up at the sight of the images. She seemed completely enamored by the bright colors. She then immediately turned around. "Sachiko! Let's go do that-deshu! I want to see the cherry blossoms-deshu!"

"That's a great idea! Let's call Nanami. She'll definitely want to come, too! We can make it a picnic!" Flush hopped off Sachiko's lap as she got up from her seat and reached for the phone.

"Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms-deshu~!" Flush sang happily to herself as Sachiko dialed Nanami's number.

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Sachiko and Nanami: A Lucky Chance Encounter**

In the Greed Empire casino, Coveton, Rapacy, and Alvario continued to indulge in the Emperor's unusual hospitality by playing a round of poker against each other. The giant monitor displayed the current score of the competition:

 **Coveton - 77**

 **Rapacy - 84**

 **Alvario - 48**

"Hmph, I may be in the lead right now," Rapacy said, "but I'm still in a bad mood. I could've gotten a much higher score. It's all Precure's fault!"

"They're almost making this competition more trouble than it's worth," Coveton said as he threw several poker chips into the center of the table.

"They won't stop me again," Alvario said, doing the same. "It's my turn next, and when I see 'em, I'll smash 'em, like... something that smashes easy!" He pounded his fist on the table, knocking the chips into the air.

"I'm afraid your turn will have to wait," the Emperor's servant said as he approached the group. Following behind him was a man in a black, coat-like robe with silver linings. He had gray eyes and short black hair that draped over the right side of his face. He wore a deceptively benign smile on his face the entire time. "I have an important announcement to make," the servant continued. "The fourth competitor of the Rite of Succession has finally arrived. This is Merak. The one, I believe, you said ran away scared." He turned to Coveton as made that last statement.

"Oh, did he now?" the man named Merak asked, glancing towards Coveton briefly. "Anyway, now that I'm here, it would be in all of your best interests to drop out and spare yourselves the embarrassment of losing to me."

"How rude," Rapacy said, cracking her whip. "Perhaps I should teach you some manners, free of charge."

"No scrawny punk is gonna talk to me that way!" Alvario added, cracking his knuckles.

"A challenge, is it?" Merak asked, spreading his arms open in provocation. "Very well, I could use some exercise."

"Enough," the servant said, maintaining his always calm demeanor. "Competitors are prohibited from attacking each other. Violation of this rule can result in your disqualification."

"Lucky you," Rapacy said to Merak, holstering her whip.

"Grr...!" Alvario growled, shaking his fist.

"The Emperor has already made his decision," the servant said. "Merak shall be allowed to enter the Rite of Succession." He turned to Merak. "However, because of your late arrival, you are at a clear disadvantage. You should also be aware that there are troublesome individuals who are attempting to disrupt the competition."

"You mean Precure?" Merak snapped his fingers, and a black, coffin-shaped object about a foot in length appeared in front of him. A seam of light appeared down the middle of the object as it split open, revealing a translucent screen inside, which displayed recordings of the previous battles between Precure and the competitors. "For two children, they certainly made fools out of you," he snickered. "Not that you needed _their_ help for that, mind."

"You were watching us the whole time?" Coveton asked. "Isn't that cheating!?"

"Only a fool would come unprepared. There's no rule in the Rite of Succession that says I can't spy on my competition. If you look at it that way, I actually wasn't late at all."

"Tch!" Coveton was clearly vexed by Merak's logic.

"Very clever," the Emperor's servant commented, slowly clapping. "I see now why the Emperor took an interest in you."

"Naturally. I am a genius, after all. As amusing as this banter has been, I must be going. I have an empire to win." Merak chuckled to himself as he walked away before vanishing instantly.

"Hmph, show-off," Rapacy said, turning her head in disgust.

"Hey, it was supposed to be _my_ turn!" Alvario shouted as he rose from his seat at the table. "When I get my hands on that-" He stopped when he could feel the Emperor's servant cold gaze upon him, even from under his mask. He then quietly sat back down.

' _An unexpected turn of events, for certain,_ ' the servant thought to himself as the others continued their card game. ' _We'll see how things play out..._ '

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Fukubiki Bakery, Sachiko, Nanami, and Flush have just stepped outside. They were both holding baskets full of food and drinks with Flush resting on top of Nanami's basket, while Sachiko was also holding a small white box with the bakery's logo on it.

"Now we have everything we need," Sachiko said.

"We already prepared enough food," Nanami commented. "Why did we have to stop by the bakery, too?"

"Because you can never have enough snacks! When you think of flower viewing, you gotta have daifuku. They're inseparable!"

"Actually, it's supposed to be dango. You just wanted an excuse to get more of your mother's daifuku, didn't you?"

"Guilty! Ehehe..."

"Let's go to the park already-deshu!" Flush interrupted. "I can't wait any longer-deshu!"

"Sorry, sorry! Let's get going, then!" Just as the group was about to head off, someone suddenly bumped into Nanami and pushed past her, nearly causing her to drop her basket. "Nanami! Are you okay?" Sachiko asked her.

"I'm fine," Nanami replied. She checked the basket, and noticed that Flush was no longer on top of it. "Flush? Where did she-" She and Sachiko looked around, and as they checked behind them, they spotted the person who bumped into Nanami just now: a little girl with short, light brown hair. In the girl's arms was Flush, being held tightly.

"I finally found you!" the girl said, squeezing Flush even tighter. "Usamiiiin!"

"H-help me-deshu...!" Flush barely managed to squeak out as she reached out to Sachiko, her face slowly turning blue.

"Umm..." Sachiko tried to get the girl's attention. "I'm sorry, but Flush is- I mean, that rabbit doll belongs to us."

"Huh?" The girl looked confused. She took another look at Flush, and realized she had made a mistake. "This isn't her..." Her grip loosened as she slowly handed Flush back to Nanami. "I'm sorry," she apologized, bowing her head.

"Thank you," Nanami said as she accepted Flush back. "Are you okay?" she whispered to Flush.

"I thought I was done for-deshu..." Flush replied, still gasping for air.

"She looked so much like her," the little girl said, "but I was..." Suddenly, she began sniffling, and tears started forming. "U... uwahhhh!" Her sudden outburst began drawing the attention of passersby.

"Ah, ahh!" Sachiko was startled by the girl's crying. "D-don't cry! There, there!" She tried to calm the girl down, but it didn't seem to work. "Nanami, help me out here!"

"M-me!?" Nanami was also panicking and at a loss of what to do. "What should _I_ do? I'm not very good at things like this...!" Just then, Sachiko got an idea. She opened the box from the bakery, pulled out a daifuku bun, and handed it to the girl.

"Here, you can have this. If you're sad, you should eat something sweet!"

"Uu... th, thank you..." The girl took the daifuku and took a single bite. "...It's delicious!" Her expression almost immediately changed.

"I know, right?" Sachiko smiled. "Nothing beats my mom's daifuku. No more crying now, okay?"

"O, okay," the girl nodded as she wiped away her tears.

"How about you tell us your name?"

"It's Rina. I'm seven."

"Nice to meet you, Rina. I'm Sachiko, and this is Nanami."

"You mistook our doll for yours, Rina," Nanami said, taking note of what she said earlier. "Did something happen to it?"

"Her name is Usamin," Rina answered. "I lost her yesterday, but I don't remember where. I looked and looked, but I can't find her. I'll never find her..." She started sobbing again, but then Sachiko gently placed her hand on the Rina's shoulder.

"Don't say that," Sachiko said. "If you give up, all your luck will leave you, and nothing will ever get better."

"Luck?"

"That's right! Luck will find a way to bring you and Usamin back together, just like it brought me and Nanami together for the first time!"

"What do you mean?"

"It's an exciting story, and it actually started right here! Do you want to hear it?"

"Yes! Tell me, tell me!" Rina seemed eager.

"Okay!" Sachiko cleared her throat. "It all started seven years ago. In fact, it happened right here in front of the bakery..."

* * *

 _~Seven Years Ago~_

It was a clear and sunny day in Jizen City, with a gentle breeze blowing through the air. Among the busy pedestrians was a young Nanami, wearing a blue sun dress and a straw hat, nosedeep in a light novel, something that's normally too complex for a child her age to be reading. Suddenly, the wind began picking up, and became so strong, it plucked Nanami's hat off of her head.

"Ah!" Nanami gasped as she saw the wind carry her hat away. "Wait!" She immediately chased after it, squeezing her way past the other pedestrians, and getting closer to where the Fukubiki Bakery was. At that moment, the doors opened, and a young Sachiko stepped out of it, carrying a box with the bakery's logo on it.

"Daifuku, daifuku~!" Sachiko sang to herself happily. "Mama's daifuku~!" As she continued singing, Nanami continued chasing her hat, keeping her eyes towards the sky. She didn't even notice Sachiko standing right in her path until _THUD!_ The two girls collided with each other, falling to the ground. Sachiko was startled by the sudden impact and tossed her box into the air as she fell.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" Nanami immediately apologized as she got up and tried to help Sachiko. "Are you- ah!" She looked up and saw the box coming back down, about to land on Sachiko's face. She quickly reached up and caught the box before that could happen.

"My daifuku!" Sachiko said as she got back up as well. "You saved them! Thank you!"

"Y, you're welcome." Nanami handed the box back to Sachiko. "But now I lost my hat..." She looked up at the sky again to see her hat being carried further away, and let out a sigh. Just then, the wind suddenly changed direction, bringing the hat back down towards the ground.

"Wah!" Sachiko gasped as the hat landed on her own head, covering up her eyes.

"My hat!" Nanami was surprised by the sudden turn of events.

"Looks like it came back. Lucky you!" Sachiko took off the hat, and offered it to Nanami. "Here, I'll give it back!"

"Th, thank you..." Nanami hesitated at first, but then took back the hat.

"One more thing... here!" Sachiko reached into her box, and gave Nanami a daifuku bun from inside. "To celebrate your good luck! I gotta go now. Bye-bye!" Sachiko waved to Nanami as she happily went her own way. Nanami also waved goodbye to the bright and cheerful girl, still trying to process everything that had just happened.

* * *

 _~Present Day~_

"Well? What did you think?" Sachiko asked Rina.

"...That wasn't as exciting as you made it sound," Rina said with disappointment, glaring at Sachiko. Her stinging words hit Sachiko like a punch as she fell over.

"True, it didn't sound very exciting," Nanami said, adding insult to injury.

"Nanami...!" Sachiko whimpered as she reached out to her, still on the ground and weeping.

"Anyway, if we're going to help look for Usamin, we should start by retracing Rina's steps." Nanami turned to Rina. "Do you remember all the places you went to yesterday?" she asked her.

"I do," Rina nodded. "We came to the bakery here, then... we went by the temple, aaand... oh, we went to the park, too! We wanted to see the cherry blossoms!"

"Then we should inspect those places, too. Maybe someone will have seen Usamin. The temple is closer to here than the park, so let's go there next." Nanami and Rina began to walk away, leaving Sachiko behind, who was still on the ground.

"Ah, wait for me!" Sachiko quickly scrambled to her feet and ran after them.

* * *

Jizen Temple is the oldest building in the city. Even as it is surrounded by modern buildings, it still maintains its traditional Shinto design. People visit regularly to pay their respects, and also to ask for a little more good luck in their lives. The group arrived at the temple, and Sachiko, Nanami, and Rina started asking around about Rina's doll, but nobody seemed to have seen it.

"She's not here, either..." Rina said, looking down. Nanami noticed this, and tried to comfort her.

"...You really love Usamin, don't you?" Nanami asked her. Rina nodded in response.

"We've always been together. We've never been apart, not even once."

"You two must have made lots of wonderful memories," Sachiko said, smiling. "Don't you worry. We'll bring you back together, so you can make a lot more memories together!" As they continued the search, Nanami spotted a familiar-looking man standing in front of the main temple building, looking up and down it.

"Isn't that...?" Nanami asked, pointing at the man.

"It is!" Sachiko recognized him immediately. "Mr. Ogata! Over here!" she called out to him. Hearing his name, he turned around and saw the girls approaching.

"Oh, Sachiko, Nanami!" Ogata greeted them. "What brings you here?"

"We were on our way to the park, but something else came up. Now we're helping Rina here find her missing friend. Would you happen to have seen a rabbit doll named Usamin anywhere?"

"Hmm... can't say that I have. Sorry. I was just admiring at the temple, thinking about how far the city has come." He paused for a moment. "Remembering the past is important. Our memories and experiences help shape us into who we are, and allow us to move forward to make even more memories and experiences. Speaking of the past, do you know about the origins of Jizen City?"

"I've tried reading up on it before," Nanami remarked, "but I didn't find much information, only back to when the city first urbanized."

"I'm not surprised. After all, the city actually started off as a nameless village about 1,000 years ago. This temple is the only building left from that time, and back then, the village almost stopped existing altogether."

"What do you mean?"

"The village was plagued with all kinds of bad luck and misfortune. Bad weather destroyed homes, the crops would keep failing, and trade with other villages fell off because of it. But despite it all, the villagers would always pick themselves up and keep going, no matter how tough it got. According to legend, the gods admired the villagers' determination, and decided to give their blessings to the village. Ever since, the disasters stopped, their crops became plentiful, and trade began picking up. The village shared its sudden good fortunes with the surrounding villages, which is why they named the village Jizen, or 'charity'. Well, that's enough of a history lesson, I should get back to my store. Good luck, I hope you find what you're looking for!" Ogata waved goodbye to the girls as he headed off.

"That man sure knows a lot," Rina said.

"Mr. Ogata knows all kinds of things," Sachiko said. "Too bad he couldn't tell us where Usamin is, though..."

"Speaking of which, Mr. Ogata was also involved with the two of us becoming friends, wasn't he?" Nanami asked Sachiko.

"That's right! It was the day after we met at the bakery..."

* * *

 _~Seven Years Ago~_

Outside of Ogata's shop, Nanami was peering through the front window. There was a wide variety of items on display, but her gaze was drawn to a small wooden box with an ornate design.

"Interesting..." she said to herself. She seemed to be deep in thought.

"So cute~!" a familiar voice squealed. Nanami turned to her side, and saw Sachiko standing next to her, also looking in the window. Her eyes were sparkling as was admiring a beautiful French doll.

"Ah!" Nanami gasped, pointing at Sachiko. "I-it's you!"

"Hm?" Sachiko turned to Nanami, but didn't seem to recognize her. "Who are you?"

' _She forgot!?_ ' Nanami thought. "Yesterday at the bakery, we bumped into each other and..."

"Ah, that's right!" Sachiko finally remembered. "How was the daifuku I gave you? Was it delicious?"

"Yes, it was," Nanami nodded. "I've never had anything- wait, don't change the subject!" She was clearly flustered by the coincidence of running into the exact same girl from yesterday. "W, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I was looking at the pretty doll," Sachiko answered. "What about you?"

"I was... looking at that." Nanami pointed to a wooden box with an ornate design.

"A box?" Sachiko was curious as to why a box would interest Nanami.

"Well, hello there!" Just then, Ogata stepped out of the store, noticing the two girls. "Young or old, everyone's welcome at my shop! Is there something I can help you two with?"

"No, I was just..." Nanami tried to answer him.

"Can we take a look at that, mister?" Sachiko interrupted, pointing to the box.

"Eh?" Nanami was surprised by Sachiko's request.

"No problem," Ogata said, stepping back in to the store briefly to fetch the box. He stepped back out and handed the box to Sachiko.

"What's so special about this box?" Sachiko asked as she tried to lift open the lid. However, it wouldn't budge an inch. "Huh? Hnnngh!" She tried to open it again, but the lid still wouldn't move. "It's stuck! Hnnnnnnnggh!"

"Surprised? It's a puzzle box," Ogata explained. "You have to open it a very specific way. It's a little difficult, maybe too difficult for a child your age."

"...Let me see it," Nanami said. Sachiko handed her the box as she closely inspected it.

"I picked up this little brainteaser in Turkey," Ogata continued to explain. "This particular puzzle box can be opened in 42 moves. It actually took me a day or two before-"

"...I got it."

"...Eh?" Ogata and Sachiko saw that Nanami had already opened the box.

"That's amazing!" Sachiko said excitedly. "How did you do that?"

"I-it's nothing special..." Nanami blushed slightly. "I just... really like puzzles."

"Hmm, well I'll be..." Ogata began thinking for a moment. "Tell you what. Why don't I let you keep that box, free of charge?"

"Eh? Is that really okay? It looks expensive..."

"Just don't let word get out; I have a business to run, after all. Come back and visit sometime; I'll be sure to find more interesting stock next time!" Ogata then headed back inside his store, scratching his head over how a 7-year-old child could solve a complicated puzzle faster than him.

"You're really lucky," Sachiko said. "Yesterday your hat came back, and today you got a present! You're _super_ lucky!" She then held out her hand. "Sachiko!"

"Huh?" Nanami seemed confused.

"We never told each other our names. I'm Sachiko! What's your name?"

"N... Nanami." Nanami extended her hand as well, and the two girls shook hands.

"Nanami... that's a nice name! ...Ah!" Sachiko gasped. "I almost forgot! I gotta go, or mama's gonna worry! We should meet again sometime, Nanami! Bye-bye!" Sachiko waved goodbye as she quickly dashed off.

"Wait!" Nanami called out to Sachiko, but she was already gone. "Where are we going to meet? Sachiko... what a strange girl..." She shrugged before heading out her own way.

* * *

 _~Present Day~_

"She just ran off without saying anything else?" Rina asked Nanami.

"That's right," Nanami replied. "She's always been like that, going at her own pace. Nothing about that has changed in all these years."

"Mom always told me I was free-spirited," Sachiko said. "Besides, there was nothing to worry about! We really _did_ meet again, and on the very next day, too! Never underestimate the power of luck!"

"You really are hopeless," Nanami sighed, shaking her head. She then took another look around the temple. "It looks like Usamin isn't here, either. The only place we haven't looked yet is the park."

"Then let's get going! Third time's the charm, and that's where we were heading anyway, so everything ends up working out!"

* * *

The girls had finally arrived at the park. The cherry trees were in full bloom, and petals were gently raining down from above like pink snowfall. There were plenty of groups of people who had come to watch and relax in the shade of the trees.

"This is the last place you were yesterday, right, Rina?" Nanami asked her. Rina quietly nodded in reply. "What are we going to do next if we don't find Usamin here?" she asked Sachiko.

"Don't worry," Sachiko replied. "If Usamin is here, we'll find her. I won't give up that easily!" Just as they passed the gazebo in the center of the park, Sachiko noticed something long and white sticking out of its railing, almost blending in with it. "Wait a second, I see something." She stepped inside the gazebo, and as she peered around the railing, she got a better view of the object: it was a small white rabbit plushie, with signs of light wear and tear, hidden behind the corner of a bench. The spot could easily be missed unless viewed from a low angle. "Is this...?"

"Usamin!" Rina cried out, immediately running past Sachiko and picking up the doll. She held it tightly as she sobbed. "It's really her this time! Thank goodness...!"

"She doesn't look anything like me-deshu," Flush mumbled to herself. "I'm much more cuter-deshu!"

"Isn't that great, Rina?" Sachiko asked her. "You didn't give up on finding Usamin, and luck brought the two of you back together!"

"Yeah! You were right!" Rina replied.

"Be sure you keep a closer eye on her this time," Nanami added. "I'm sure the two of you will make many more memories together."

"We will! Thank you, Sachiko, Nanami! Bye-bye!" Rina waved goodbye to the girls and had Usamin do the same as she happily skipped away with her little friend. Sachiko and Nanami smiled as they also waved to Rina.

"How touching, I'm almost moved to tears," came a voice from behind Sachiko and Nanami. They turned around to see Merak standing just a short distance away, still wearing the same benign smile as before.

"Who are you?" Nanami asked, immediately suspicious of his sudden appearance and his unusual attire.

"Where are my manners? It hardly seems fair that I know all about you, yet you know nothing about me." Merak bowed politely to the girls. "I am Merak. The genius mage, Merak. That's really all you need to know, young ladies... or should I say, Cure Lucky and Cure Chance?"

"What!?" Nanami gasped. "You're...!"

"Another competitor from the Greed Empire-deshu!" Flush shouted.

"Just how many are there?" Sachiko asked.

"The answer to that doesn't matter," Merak said, "because your meddling ends here." He held out his hand, and a Kyoujin cube with a violet symbol appeared. "Your luck has run out! Come forth, Kyoujin!" He raised the cube in the air, and bolts from the cube shot out, striking the gazebo. In an eruption of darkness, the gazebo sprang to life as a Kyoujin, increasing in size and gaining a pair of arms, legs, and eyes, with its symbol emblazoned on the top, between the eyes.

" _Kyoujin!_ " The monster roared, sending out a pulse of dark energy. As it swept over the park, the people collapsed and began moaning and crying as golden globes of Fortune Energy were pulled from their bodies and into the Kyoujin. Among the victims was Rina, who continued to cling to Usamin as she laid weeping in despair.

"Rina!" Sachiko was dismayed by what she saw. "She was just reunited with her friend, and then to take away her luck and happiness... it's _unforgivable!_ " she shouted at Merak as she grabbed her Fortune Module. "Nanami, let's go!"

"Right!" Nanami nodded, also pulling out her Fortune Module.

" **Precure! Fortune Wheel Change!** " The girls pulled down their levers, and in a flash of bright light, they transformed.

"The shining light of happiness! Cure Lucky!"

"The tranquil wave of wisdom! Cure Chance!"

"As usual, my information was accurate," Merak said. "You two really are the legendary warriors, Pretty Cure. Let's see if you live up to that title. Kyoujin!"

" _Kyoujin!_ " The gazebo Kyoujin lunged at Lucky and Chance, raising its foot. The two leapt back as it stomped the ground, cracking it. Lucky and Chance immediately charged back in, repeatedly trading blows with it. The Kyoujin threw a hard right hook, but Lucky blocked it from her side. Chance then jumped up, landing a powerful punch right between the monster's eyes, causing to stagger backwards, clutching its forehead.

"One more hit ought to do it!" Lucky shouted. "Haaaahh!" She leapt forward into a flying kick.

" _Kyou!_ " The Kyoujin quickly recovered and straightened out its body. Lucky ended up flying inbetween the parts of the Kyoujin's body, through the inside of the gazebo.

"Eh?"

" _Jin!_ " The upper and lower halves of the Kyoujin clamped shut, forming a cage of sorts, using the railings as bars.

"Hey! Let me out of here!" Lucky shouted as she shook the bars of her cage. She struggled to try and break them, but they refused to budge.

" _Kyou, kyou, kyou...!_ " The Kyoujin spread its arms and began spinning around rapidly, with Lucky still stuck inside of it.

"Ahhh! Make it stooooppp!" Lucky screamed as she was spun around inside. "I'm geeeetttingg diiiizzzyyy...!"

"Lucky!" Chance called out to her. She tried to get closer, but the Kyoujin's flailing fists left no openings.

" _Kyou... jin!_ " The Kyoujin suddenly stopped its spinning while opening up its body. Lucky came flying back out, but Chance caught her before she could hit the ground.

"Lucky, are you alright?"

"The world is... round and round..." Lucky mumbled to herself, her eyes spinning.

" _Kyoujin!_ " Just then, the Kyoujin launched another attack, striking Lucky and Chance with a haymaker and knocking them into one of the nearby trees.

"Lucky! Chance!" Flush cried out. "Hang in there-deshu!"

"Come now, is that all you've got?" Merak taunted. "I expected more from the so-called 'legendary warriors'. At least try to make this entertaining for me."

"We're just... getting started!" Lucky said, shaking her head and regaining her bearings. "These people came here to make wonderful memories today, and we won't let you ruin that!"

"...Pointless." Merak's smile slowly faded away.

"What?"

"Must I repeat myself? I said it's pointless. 'Making wonderful memories'? That's just sentimental nonsense that accomplishes nothing. People would be better off using that wasted time and effort on something more productive. When I become the next Greed Emperor, I'm sure I can fix that problem."

"It's not pointless! The memories people make give them strength! Rina's precious memories of Usamin gave her the strength to keep searching for her, and luck responded to her feelings by bringing them back together!"

"The memories Lucky and I share give us strength as well," Chance added. "No matter what obstacles come our way, we always manage to overcome them by working together. Remembering that assures me that as long as we keep sticking together, we'll be able to overcome this as well!"

"Spoken like a true ignoramus," Merak sighed. "I suppose I must now show you just how _wrong_ you are. Once I'm done with you, maybe I'll have this eyesore of a park torn to the ground."

"That's not gonna happen!" Lucky shouted. She charged at the gazebo Kyoujin and unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks. The Kyoujin raised its arms in defense, blocking the relentless attacks.

" _Kyou!_ " The monster pushed Lucky away as it spread its arms and began spinning again, forming a cyclone around itself. The intense winds pushed her further away, and starting tearing the leaves and petals from the trees, leaving them barren.

"Ugh! I can't get close!" Lucky said as she braced herself. "At this rate, the park will be...!"

"We have to stop that spinning, somehow!" Chance said. She looked around, and noticed an opening at the Kyoujin's feet. "...Right there! **Precure! Chance Crystal Cascade!** " She thrust out her arms, and a stream of water shot forth, sweeping across the ground below the Kyoujin. The water instantly froze over, bringing the Kyoujin's spinning to an abrupt stop.

" _Jiiiin!_ " The sudden stop caused the Kyoujin to lose its balance and fall over, in the direction that Merak was standing. Merak leapt up to avoid being crushed, hovering in the air above it.

"Now!" Lucky said as she summoned her bow. " **Precure! Lucky Arrow Shooter!** " She let loose an arrow, landing a direct hit on the Kyoujin as it was lifted into the air.

" _Kyou...jin..._ " the monster moaned as its body dissipated, releasing the stolen Fortune Energy into the air. The gazebo reappeared in its original location, and the trees began to bloom once more.

"Hmm, not exactly as I predicted..." Merak muttered to himself while looking at his cube, which was glowing with a faint light of its own, and his benign smile returned. "...but the results are satisfactory." He then turned his attention to Lucky and Chance. "Precure! Today was just a formality. When next we meet, I'll have you _begging_ for mercy!" Merak vanished without a trace, and as the released Fortune Energy continued to rain down, one globe floated down in front of the Cures and burst open, revealing a map piece.

"Another map piece!" Lucky held out her Fortune Module and pressed the button on its panel to pull in the map piece. As the scrap entered the screen, another portion of the display was filled in.

"So now there's four competitors," Chance noted. "The fighting's only going to get tougher, now."

"But like you said, as long as we stick together, there's no obstacle we can't overcome!"

* * *

With the park back to normal, Sachiko, Nanami, and Flush were finally able to have their long-awaited picnic under the blooming cherry trees.

"So pretty-deshu~!" Flush was absolutely fascinated by the sights. "There are lots of bright and colorful flowers in the Grace Kingdom, but nothing like this-deshu! Thank you for bringing me here-deshu!"

"No need to thank us," Sachiko said. "It's what friends do. Right, Nanami?"

"Right," Nanami nodded.

"Oh, I almost forgot-deshu," Flush suddenly gasped. "You never finished your story from before-deshu. I want to know what happened next-deshu!"

"Like Sachiko said earlier," Nanami explained, "we met again the very next day-" She suddenly paused as the feeling of déjà vu came over her.

"What's wrong?" Flush tilted her head in curiosity.

"Here... we met again here, right in this park."

"Really?"

"That's not all. The reason we both came here..."

"...was to watch the cherry blossoms...!" Sachiko finished Nanami's sentence as she got the same feeling of familiarity. The coincidence was uncanny: the day's events began in front of the bakery, the very place where they first met, and it ended in the park, where they came to watch the cherry trees in bloom.

* * *

 _~Seven Years Ago~_

Underneath one of the trees in the park, Nanami and Sachiko stared at each other for what felt like a lifetime, in utter surprise that they ran into one another for a third time.

"We keep meeting like this, completely by chance," Nanami said. "The odds of that happening three times in a row... it should be impossible."

"It must be luck," Sachiko said with a smile. "Luck brought us together like this for a reason! Hey, can I ask you something, Nanami?"

"What is it?"

"Do you... want to be friends with me?"

"Friends...?" Nanami was taken aback by her sudden offer. "That... that would be nice," she finally replied, also smiling.

"Then it's decided! Starting today, we're friends! Right, Nanami?"

"Right... Sachiko!"

* * *

 _~Present Day~_

"...and ever since that day," Nanami said, "we've only grown closer as friends. There may have been a few rough patches along the way - some more recent than others - but we always managed to pull through them together. Still, it feels strange, thinking back to what happened seven years ago. One chance meeting led to another, and ended with the two of us becoming best friends. It almost makes me want to believe it was more than just a coincidence."

"Maybe it was-deshu," Flush interrupted. "Maybe it was fate that brought the two of you together-deshu. After all, you both ended becoming Precure-deshu."

"Fate?" Nanami and Sachiko looked at each other for a moment.

"I don't really like the idea of my life being determined by some outside force," Nanami said, "but if it really was fate that allowed us to become friends... then just this once, I won't complain." She then smiled warmly.

"Luck, coincidence, or fate, no matter what it was that really brought all of us together," Sachiko said, "I wouldn't change any of it." The three of them continued to watch the cherry blossoms together, with Sachiko and Nanami remembering the luckiest encounter of their lives.

* * *

 _Nanami: Run, Sachiko! They're coming!_

 _Sachiko: Ahh! Wait, who? Who's coming!?_

 _Nanami: The school clubs, the Greed Empire, that masked person,_ everyone _!_

 _Sachiko: Wait, who is_ _that supposed to be!? Next time, on Lucky*Pretty Cure!_

 _ **Most Wanted! The Mysterious Warrior Appears**_

 _Next time will be super lucky, too!_

 _ **The third Precure will soon appear...!**_

* * *

 **Author's Note (1):** The rules of the Rite of Succession:

1) Competitors will compete to gather Fortune Energy from the target world. The one who gathered the most Fortune Energy when the world is completely drained is declared the winner.

2) Competitors are forbidden from attacking or sabotaging each other. Violation may result in penalties or disqualification.

3) Competitors are forbidden from physically assisting each other. Violation may result in penalties or disqualification.

4) In the event a competitor's Kyoujin is destroyed, they must immediately return to the Greed Empire.

 **Author's Note (2):** Finally, the newest chapter is out! Apologies for the long wait. I had to completely rewrite this chapter from scratch several times before I got a version that I was satisfied with and also fit into the story.

 **Merak** \- "voiced" by Kouji Yusa (Batty - Maho Girls Precure, Shadow the Hedgehog - Sonic the Hedgehog series)


	8. The Mysterious Warrior Appears

**Lucky*Pretty Cure!**

 **by Exdeathmore**

* * *

In a small, dimly-lit room, a cabal of shadowy figures has gathered together.

"So, exactly as we planned, right?" one of the figures asked.

"Yes," another figure nodded. "If we fail this time, we'll have to wait another year for a chance like this."

"What about Takamoto? Won't she get in the way?"

"I don't think she knows yet. Even if she does, it's too late. We already got permission from the rest of the council, including the president."

"Then there's nothing left but to carry out the plan," a third figure said, pulling out a piece of paper and holding it out for the entire group to see: it was a photograph of Sachiko. "May Lady Luck smile on us."

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Most Wanted! The Mysterious Warrior Appears**

"Good morning, Yoshimura!" a student greeted Sachiko as she entered the school gates.

"Good morning!" Sachiko cheerfully replied. As she headed across the schoolyard to the main building, a trio of female students approached her.

"Good morning, Sachiko!" the trio said together.

"Good morning!" Sachiko recognized the three girls as members of the school's soccer team.

"We just wanted to thank you again for that time when you filled in for Kashima when she injured her leg," one of the girls said.

"Not only were we able to play that game, but it ended up going a lot better than we thought!" another girl added.

"You're welcome, but..." Sachiko seemed confused. "...wasn't that last year?"

"Yes, well... we wanted to make sure we didn't forget to thank you _properly_ for it. We also wanted to say that there's always a spot for you on the team, you know... if you ever decide to join. Well, we'll see you later!" The girls quickly made their way into the school building.

' _Everyone's being really nice this morning,_ ' she thought to herself. ' _I have a feeling today's going to be another super lucky day!_ ' She had a big smile on her face as she headed inside herself.

* * *

Inside the school, more students continued to greet Sachiko as she headed to class.

"Morning, Yoshimura," a male student greeted her as he passed. "Good luck today, you're gonna need it!"

"Don't worry," Sachiko replied, "it hasn't let me down yet!" As she got to the classroom and sat down at her desk, she thought back to what the student said. ' _I wonder what he meant by that...?_ '

"...I can't believe they would do something like this!" A familiar voice came from outside the classroom. The door opened, and Nanami entered, looking distraught and frustrated. "Why didn't I see this coming...?" she continued mumbling to herself.

"Nanami? What's wrong?" Sachiko asked her. "Did something happen?"

"Sachiko, listen to me. The student council, they decided to-"

"Good morning, class." Before Nanami could finish, the teacher entered the room. "Everyone, take your seats and let's get started." Not wanting to upset the teacher, Nanami went to her desk and sat down.

' _I wonder what Nanami was going to say..._ ' Sachiko thought.' _She looked really upset..._ '

* * *

In the Greed Empire casino, the four competitors were lined up before the Emperor's servant. The scoreboard behind him displayed the updated standings in the Rite of Succession:

 **Coveton - 77**

 **Rapacy - 84**

 **Alvario - 48**

 **Merak - 43**

"So much for your tough talk," Rapacy said to Merak with a smirk. "You lost to Precure, _and_ you're still in last place, to boot."

"A calculated move," Merak replied, maintaining his composure. "Now that I've seen how they fight and think, it will be easy to outmaneuver them. After all, the goal isn't to beat them, it's to outsmart them."

"Not anymore, I'm afraid," the servant interrupted. "I have gathered the four of you here for an important announcement. The Greed Emperor himself wishes to address you directly." With a snap of his finger, the scoreboard's display fizzled, switching to an image of a withered old man with long gray hair seated in a throne, wrapped in a black and green robe. His long beard reached down his body and over his lap, touching the floor. "May I present to you: the 12th winner of the Rite of Succession, now the 13th Emperor of the Greed Empire."

" _That's_ the Greed Emperor?" Coveton asked. "He's all skin and bones!"

"He looks like he already has one foot in the grave," Merak added.

" ** _Silence!_** " the Emperor's voice boomed. Suddenly, the entire casino began to shake violently, causing the competitors to lose their balance for a moment. "I may be old, but I still wield great power, enough to put all of you in your place!"

"Hmph! I ain't scared of you, you old geezer," Alvario grunted, stepping forward. "Why should I keep playing this game when I can just smash you and take everything instead?"

"You are not the first to think as such. The Rite of Succession is more than just a simple game. The first Emperor foresaw that there would be those who would take that which was his, so he placed a powerful enchantment over the Empire, binding its wealth and prosperity to his own title and power. The Rite of Succession is an elaborate ritual designed to pass these things on to another individual. If I perish before the ritual is completed, then the Greed Empire - and all its treasures - will disappear as well."

"Erk!" Hearing this, Alvario decided to hold his tongue.

"Something like that must need a lot of power to maintain," Merak said. "I assume the Fortune Energy we steal is needed for this ritual?"

"Precisely," the Emperor nodded. "However, there is not nearly enough Fortune Energy for its completion. The legendary warriors, Pretty Cure... they have disrupted the competition with their constant interference, which is I why I have appeared before you today. I hereby declare a bounty: whosoever defeats the two Precure, and presents me with proof of the deed, shall receive a large bonus to their score in the Rite of Succession!"

"Well, this is certainly a pleasant surprise!" Rapacy smiled. "Now I get to destroy those brats and get paid to do it, too! Not that I needed motivation after what they did to me."

"Do not forget! The Fortune Energy you steal is crucial for the... the...!" Suddenly, the Emperor began coughing and wheezing violently, struggling for a breath of air.

"Your Highness!" the servant gasped, breaking his calm demeanor for the first time. The Emperor reached behind his throne, grabbing a mask attached to a tube, and taking deep breaths through it. The servant sighed with relief.

"...You must gather more Fortune Energy for the ritual," the Emperor continued with a muffled voice. "My health is failing... my time, and _yours_ , is running out..." As he sat back down on the throne, the display on the monitor dimmed, reverting back to showing the scoreboard.

"Tch," Merak huffed. "If only he had mentioned this before my turn, I could have factored this into my strategy... I do detest unexpected developments."

"Hahah!" Coveton laughed. "I'll claim that bounty before you know it!"

"You mean _I'll_ claim it!" Alvario said, nudging Coveton. "It's supposed to be _my_ turn!" The two of them stared down each other, ready to butt heads.

"Honestly," Rapacy said, "you two are like children. Haven't you heard of 'ladies first'? If anyone is going to go first, it should be me."

"Lady?" Coveton and Alvario asked in unison.

"What was that?" Rapacy pulled her whip taut with a loud _SNAP_ , and an unmistakable look of anger that showed through her mask. Coveton and Alvario froze, not wanting to provoke her further. "...That's what I thought. If there are no objections, then I'll be the one to claim that bounty." She holstered her whip and headed out the casino doors.

* * *

Back at the school, the end of classes was slowly approaching. Nanami was fidgeting as she frequently glanced at the clock, while everyone else was acting normal. Bit by bit, the second hand on the clock inched closer to the top of the minute, until finally, the school bells rang out, signalling the end of class. Nanami immediately got up from her seat, packed her belongings, then hurried over to Sachiko's desk.

"Come on," Nanami said as she grabbed Sachiko by the arm. "We have to go, _now_."

"Eh?" Sachiko was startled by her friend's sudden change in behavior. "What are you talking about, Nanami? Why now?"

"There's no time to explain. We just have to leave the school as soon as possible." Nanami pulled her friend up out of her seat and guided her out the door.

"Ah, wait! Nanami! You're not making any sense!"

"Don't think you'll be able to slip away so easily!" A voice called out to them as they entered the hallway. A large group of students had gathered there, completely blocking one end of the hall, each of them with a determined look on their face. Sachiko recognized many of them as the same students who had greeted her that morning, including the girls from the soccer team.

"Wh-what's going on here?" Sachiko asked them, feeling nervous under the gazes of the crowd.

"Sachiko Yoshimura!" a male student with a camera addressed her. "If you join the journalism club, I'm certain we'll be able to find the scoop of the century! Please, lend us your lu- I mean, your strength!"

"Not so fast!" one of the soccer team girls interrupted. "The soccer team already has a spot reserved just for Sachiko! She already has the talent, and with her help and a little training, we'll make it all the way to the championship this year! Right, Sachiko?"

"Hold it!" another male student with wild-looking hair shouted. "Yoshimura would be the best fit for the science club! She must submit herself for study so that we may uncover the secret behind her luck! It could change the world!" The students continued to interrupt each other, which eventually turned into arguing amongst themselves.

' _They're not even trying to hide it anymore..._ ' Nanami thought to herself as she sighed.

"Umm..." Sachiko seemed flustered by all the attention she was getting. "I appreciate your offers, I really do... but, I'm not interested in joining any clubs right now." She bowed in apology. "I'm sorry!"

"No way!" the crowd roared. "We waited all year for this! We won't take no for an answer!"

"So it's come to this," Nanami said. "There's only one option left... run, Sachiko!" The two girls turned around and began running down the opposite end of the hallway.

"She's getting away! After her!" The crowd of students gave chase, stampeding down the hall. As Sachiko and Nanami ran, they passed by a male teacher who had just stepped out of his classroom.

"Hey, you two!" the teacher shouted at them. "No running in the- huh?" He turned around to see the approaching mob charging straight towards him. "Waaaahhh!" he screamed as he was seemingly swallowed up by the sea of people.

"I'm really sorry about this!" Sachiko shouted behind her, hoping the unfortunate teacher heard her. She and Nanami reached a stairwell and dashed down to the ground floor. As they rounded a corner, they noticed another group of students near the shoe lockers near the front exit, also searching for Sachiko.

"We're cut off!" Nanami said. "There's more of them than I thought...!"

"There she is!" one of the students pointed at Sachiko. "Wait, Yoshimura! Please join our club!" The group began running towards her.

"Quick, this way!" Nanami pointed to a side hall that led to the other side of the school. As they rushed down it, they noticed an open door, and someone's arm sticking out, waving them down.

"Sachi! Over here!" a familiar voice called out to them.

"That voice...!" Sachiko recognized it almost immediately. Without hesitation, Sachiko and Nanami ducked into the room and quickly closed the door behind them as the pursuing students continued down the hall. The room they had entered was a utility closet, with cleaning supplies and other equipment stowed away in the corners. The girls also got a closer look at their rescuer.

"Looks like you two need a hand," she said to them.

"Natsuki!" Sachiko was relieved to see her. "Thanks a lot! You really saved us!"

"I heard some of those guys earlier say they were looking for you, and I got a bad feeling. What exactly's going on? It's like half the school's gone crazy!"

"You only transferred here this year, so you probably don't know," Nanami said. "Sachiko is always trying to help everyone out with her... ahem, 'talents', that includes all the school's clubs. Left and right, she kept getting asked to join those clubs, but she turned them down. Their persistence soon became a problem, and to keep them from fighting, the student council was forced to step in, forbidding them from approaching Sachiko with their invitations. However..." Nanami sighed. "...they decided that to keep things fair, they would allow one day for them to try and recruit her, and that day happens to be today. If only I had more authority in the student council, I could have prevented this..."

"So that's what you were trying to tell me this morning," Sachiko said. "What should I do? Are they going to follow me all day?"

"There was only one rule they made in this arrangement: that the recruiting ends when you leave school for the day. If we can get you to the school gates, we can put an end to this ridiculous show, at least for this year."

"I'll help out, too," Natsuki said. "I'll go on ahead. I have an idea that might help you get out of this mess." She opened a door a little and peeked through the gap. After making sure nobody was in the hall, she headed out of the closet.

"You should go ahead, too, Nanami," Sachiko said to her. "I'm the one everyone's after. There's no need for you to get involved."

"Don't be ridiculous," Nanami objected. "I won't leave you to be harrassed by that mob! I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe from them. As your friend, I swear it."

"Nanami...!" Sachiko began tearing up slightly hearing her friend's devotion. "In that case, let's get moving! No matter what they throw at us, we'll find a way to get through it!" After checking the hallway once more, the two of them quietly snuck back towards the shoe lockers.

"They're headed for the gates!" someone shouted. The girls looked on either side to see groups of students closing in on them.

"We've been spotted!" Sachiko gasped. "Nothing left to do but make a break for it. Luck, don't let us down! Last spurt... _go!_ " She and Nanami ran with all their might out the front door.

"You won't get away!" The crowd roared behind them.

"Oops!" Just as Sachiko and Nanami got outside, they heard Natsuki's voice behind them. She was positioned beside the door, knocking over a cart full of supplies for the baseball team. Balls, bats, and other items spilled out onto the ground, creating uneven terrain for the pursuing mob.

"Woah! Aagh! Watch it!" the students cried as they tripped and stumbled over the scattered supplies, falling over each other.

"Sorry!" Natsuki apologized sarcastically. "I'm such a klutz, and this cart was so heavy! My bad!" As she saw Sachiko and Nanami cross the courtyard and reach the school gates, she smiled. ' _Never a dull moment with you around, eh, Sachi?_ ' she thought to herself.

* * *

After putting a fair distance between themselves and the school, Sachiko and Nanami found themselves near a large stone fountain surrounded by several stone benches, indicating that they were close to the shopping district. They decided to sit at one of the benches to rest for a moment and catch their breath.

"Nobody from the school should follow us here," Nanami said to Sachiko. "You should be fine, now... at least until next year, when they try this crazy stunt again."

"We might have been caught if it wasn't for Natsuki," Sachiko said. "I'll have to think of a way to thank her!"

"Sachiko, Nanami! Over here-deshu!" The girls heard yet another familiar voice calling out to them. They looked up to see Flush hovering down towards them. Fortunately, there weren't many people around, and they were otherwise occupied to notice the small fairy.

"Flush?" Sachiko was surprised. "What are you doing here? What if someone saw you?"

"You can't expect me to stay cooped up in your room all day-deshu!" Flush huffed. "You were late coming home, and I started to get worried... and lonely-deshu..." Her voice trailed off at the end. "A-anyway, what happened to you two? You look exhausted-deshu!"

"Well, you see..." Nanami relayed to Flush what had happened at the school.

"Eh!? Really!? That sounds rough-deshu." Flush turned to Sachiko. "But, why don't you want to join any clubs? If you just picked one, those things wouldn't have happened-deshu."

"It's not that I don't want to," Sachiko explained, "it's just, well... I can't really choose one over the others. It just wouldn't be fair to everyone else."

"What do you mean?"

"I like helping people more. If I joined a club, they would expect more from me, which means I wouldn't be able to help others as much. Whenever I see someone who's down on their luck, I want to do what I can to turn it around, no matter how big or small. That way, everyone can feel super lucky and happy."

"Very admirable-deshu! Wanting to help everyone, spreading good luck and fortune... you sound just like the princess-deshu!" Flush looked at Nanami, and noticed her looking around. "What is it, Nanami?" she asked her.

"I can't shake the feeling that we're being watched..." Nanami said. "Did someone from school keep following us...? Some people just can't take no for an answer."

"There you are, you brats!" Suddenly, Rapacy appeared out of nowhere, hovering above the top of the fountain. "My habit of running into you has paid off for once."

"Rapacy!" Nanami gasped. "Here to cause more trouble?"

"The only ones who are in trouble are you two!" Rapacy held out her hand, calling out her Kyoujin cube. "Your luck has run out! Come on out, Kyoujin!" Black bolts shot down towards the fountain below, enveloping it in darkness. In a burst of energy, the fountain was transformed into a Kyoujin with glaring eyes and wide metal pipes forming arms and four legs. A large orb of water formed on the top of the fountain, with the Kyoujin symbol glowing inside it. Water began pouring out of its arms, bending and warping into a pair of fists.

" _Kyoujin!_ " The monster gurgled, sending out waves of black energy. Even though there were fewer people around, they succumbed to the Kyoujin's attack all the same, falling to the ground as golden orbs of Fortune Energy left their bodies and entered the Kyoujin's.

"Something's not right," Nanami said, looking at Rapacy. "If you were here to steal Fortune Energy, you could've picked a place with more people," she said to her. "What are you planning?"

"Well, aren't you a smart one?" Rapacy smiled. "I'm after a bigger prize today... specifically, collecting the bounty on you two!"

"What!?"

"The Greed Emperor got tired of you interfering with the competition, so he put a bounty on your heads. All I have to do is show him proof that you won't get in the way anymore, and he'll reward me with a boost to my score! Let's see..." Rapacy turned her gaze towards Flush. "Maybe I'll bring that little fairy back as proof of the deed."

"Eek!" Flush squealed as she cowered behind Sachiko. "D-don't let her take me away-deshu!"

"You won't lay a finger on Flush," Sachiko said, "and we won't lose to someone like you! Nanami, let's go!"

"Right!" Nanami nodded as they both pulled out their Fortune Modules.

" **Precure! Fortune Wheel Change!** " They pulled down the levers, and in a bright flash of light, the girls transformed.

"The shining light of happiness! Cure Lucky!"

"The tranquil wave of wisdom! Cure Chance!"

"Stand back, Flush," Chance said to her, "we'll take care of this!"

"B-be careful-deshu...!" Flush said as she quickly flew off to take cover.

"That bounty is mine!" Rapacy shouted, cracking her whip. "Kyoujin, attack!"

" _Kyoujin!_ " The fountain Kyoujin charged forward, attempting to trample Lucky and Chance underfoot. They met it head on with a combined punch. The Kyoujin blocked with its arms, and the impact caused all three to be pushed away from each other. " _Kyou! Jin!_ " The Kyoujin shot out its watery fists like cannonballs. Lucky and Chance leapt away as the fists struck the ground, cracking the pavement and bursting apart.

"If it's a fight with water you want," Chance said, "then I won't lose! **Precure! Chance Crystal Cascade!** " She called forth streams of water, launching them towards the Kyoujin.

" _Kyou!_ " The monster roared, firing beams of water from its arms and clashing with Chance's attack. The opposing streams pushed each other back and forth, but eventually, the Kyoujin's attack broke through, pushing into Chance.

"Aahhh!" Chance screamed as she was slammed by the water into the side of a nearby building.

"Chance!" Lucky cried out. She turned to the Kyoujin, clenching her fists. "Why you...!" She charged towards it, unleashing a barrage of punches and kicks. The repeated strikes caused the Kyoujin to rear up, losing its balance. With one final kick, Lucky knocked the Kyoujin on its back as it rocked side to side, trying to get back up. "Take this!" she shouted, holding out her arm. " **Precure!** "

"Not this time!" Rapacy interrupted. "I'll show you what happens when I get serious!" She lashed out her whip, striking the Kyoujin.

" _Jiiin!_ " The pipe legs of the Kyoujin suddenly fired out multiple streams of water, smothering Lucky before she had a chance to call out her bow.

"Aaaaggh!" Lucky screamed in pain as she was struck. The intense pressure of the water was like being hit by a large truck. She was lifted off her feet and sent crashing into the same building, beside Chance.

"Lucky! Chance!" Flush cried. "Get up-deshu! Hurry-deshu!"

"Ergh...!" Lucky and Chance struggled to get back on their feet, but the earlier attacks took more out of them than they thought. Between all the running at school earlier and the fighting, they were still exhausted. The Kyoujin got back on its feet and began inching closer towards them, its arms raised and ready for another attack.

"Ooohohohoho!" Rapacy laughed haughtily. "It's finally over for you brats. One more blast should put you out of my misery! Kyoujin, finish them!"

" _Kyoujin!_ " The Kyoujin fired another pair of pressurized water streams towards Lucky and Chance.

' _It's no good!_ ' Lucky thought to herself. ' _We can't get out of the way in time...!_ ' Just as the streams were about to hit, a powerful gust of wind blew through the area. The wind was so powerful, it changed the direction of the water's flow, knocking it into the air and towards Rapacy.

"Waah!" Rapacy gasped as she was drenched by her Kyoujin's own attack. "My hair! My clothes!" she screamed. She glared angrily at the Kyoujin and began lashing it repeatedly with her whip. "You clumsy idiot! Watch where you're aiming!"

"We're saved...?" Chance was puzzled by the sudden reversal of the situation as she and Lucky were able to recover.

"Ah!" Flush gasped, pointing upwards. "Up there-deshu!" Everyone looked towards where Flush was pointing. Standing on the roof of one of the nearby buildings was a woman. She was clad in a pale blue suit with long coat tails, adorned with gold buttons, epaulettes, and a pure white frilled cravat, along with a pair of gold-trimmed, brown leather cuffed gloves and boots. Atop her head was a blue chapeau with a large white feather plume on the side; its size and shape concealed her hair underneath. A white mask covered the upper part of her face, and in her right hand was a slender, silver rapier. Her appearance closely resembled that of a noble European duelist.

"Disgraceful..." the masked duelist said, shaking her head. "Your performance is a disgrace!" she shouted at Rapacy, pointing her rapier at her. "Your manners, your methods, and even your attire... all of it brings shame and dishonor to yourself!"

"What?" Rapacy growled. "You dare insult _my_ fashion!? Who are you, anyway!?"

"I am the masked knight, Chevalier. That is all I will reveal to a foul villain like yourself!"

"Acting all high and mighty... I'll teach you some respect! Kyoujin, deal with her first!"

" _Kyoujin!_ " The Kyoujin bellowed as it aimed its arms upward, firing another volley of water towards Chevalier. She leapt off the roof, dodging the incoming attack effortlessly. She seemed to float through the air as she twirled and spun, landing gently on her feet, behind the Kyoujin.

"Such a brutish beast is an unworthy opponent!" Chevalier said. With a broad swing of her rapier, an intense burst of air shot forth.

" _Kyou... jiiiiiin!_ " The wind was so powerful, it was able to lift even the sturdy fountain Kyoujin into the air.

"Waaahhh!" Rapacy screamed as the wind pushed her back as well. The Kyoujin came crashing back down into the ground upside-down, causing it to get stuck in place.

"Amazing...!" Lucky's eyes widened in awe of Chevalier's skill and power.

"Lucky, now's our chance!" Chance said to her.

"Huh? Oh, right!" Lucky quickly came to her senses as she called out her bow, taking aim at the fallen Kyoujin. " **Precure! Lucky Arrow Shooter!** " She let loose an arrow, easily striking the Kyoujin as a large star appeared behind it and lifted it into the air.

" _Kyou... jin..._ " The monster moaned as its body dissipated into dozens of golden lights that rained down on the area, undoing the damage from the battle.

" _Aaaagh!_ " Rapacy screeched, tugging on her whip and gritting her teeth. "Why does everyone keep getting in my way!?" She glared at Chevalier. "Chevalier, is it? I'll make you pay for this, I swear it!" she shouted at her before vanishing in an instant. One of the orbs of Fortune Energy floated down in front of Lucky, bursting open to reveal another map piece.

"Another map piece-deshu!" Flush cheered. "You know what to do-deshu!" she said to Lucky.

"I got it!" Lucky nodded as she pulled out her Fortune Module. However, before she could store the map piece within it, a small burst of wind rushed in front of her, knocking the small scrap into the air. The wind guided it right into the hand of Chevalier. "The map piece!" Lucky gasped. "What are you doing?"

"Make no mistake," Chevalier said with a stern tone, "your performace earlier was also quite disgraceful. I expected more from the legendary warriors, Pretty Cure, but if this is all you are capable of, then you do not deserve to even lay eyes on the Fortune Chest."

"Wait, you know about the Fortune Chest?" Chance asked her.

"Of course. It is the _ultimate_ treasure. If you are not up to the task, then perhaps I shall claim it for myself!"

"You can't do that-deshu!" Flush strongly objected. "We need to find the Fortune Chest to defeat the Greed Empire-deshu!"

"Then prove me wrong. Become stronger, strong enough to be worthy of the name Pretty Cure, and take this map piece back with your own power! Farewell for now!" With another swing of her rapier, Chevalier summoned another powerful gust of wind, forcing Lucky, Chance, and Flush to close their eyes. When the wind died down and they opened their eyes, Chevalier had vanished without a trace.

"Ahh, she's gone-deshu!" Flush was clearly in a panic as she turned to Lucky and Chance. "If we're missing even one map piece, we'll never be able to reach the Fortune Chest-deshu!"

"Chevalier... just who is she? A friend, or another enemy...?" Chance asked herself as she, Lucky, and Flush were at a total loss of what to do next.

* * *

 _Sachiko: We need to find the third Precure, and fast!_

 _Nanami: But how are we going to find them?_

 _Sachiko: We can try asking around school!_

 _Nanami: I can't list all the reasons that's a bad idea. We need a better plan._

 _Sachiko: Wait, is that...? It must be! Next time, on Lucky*Pretty Cure!_

 _ **Like the Burning Sun! Cure Golden Has Arrived!**_

 _Next time will be super lucky, too!_

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I've started putting together a wiki on the Fandom of Pretty Cure Wikia. Look up my page there at _**User:Exdeathmore**_ for a link to it, and stay up-to-date on character bios, chapter summaries, and even get a sneak peek at upcoming chapters.

 **Greed Emperor XIII** \- "voiced" by Hidekatsu Shibata (King Bradley - Fullmetal Alchemist, Hiruzen Sarutobi - Naruto)

 **Chevalier** \- "voiced" by Risa Taneda (Mirai Kuriyama - Kyoukai no Kanata, Mash Kyrielight (formerly) - Fate/Grand Order)


	9. Cure Golden Has Arrived!

**Lucky*Pretty Cure!**

 **by Exdeathmore**

* * *

 _My name is Sachiko Yoshimura, and I have the best luck! ...Though, it doesn't seem like that right now. Together with my best friend, Nanami, we became the legendary warriors, Pretty Cure, and fought against the Greed Empire, who have chosen our home to host a contest to find the greediest person in the universe. To make matters worse, the Greed Emperor put out a bounty on us! And if_ that _wasn't enough, a mysterious fighter named Chevalier appeared. She saved us when we were in a pinch, but she ended up taking one of the map pieces we need to find the Fortune Chest! How is this super lucky...? But as long as we don't give up, I'm sure luck will find a way to turn everything around!_

* * *

After their encounter with Chevalier, Sachiko, Nanami, and Flush met in Sachiko's room to discuss recent developments. Flush was holding a stack of cards in her hands, as well as the cloth sack she had when she first came to this world. She laid down two cards on the floor. The cards had crudely drawn depictions of Cure Lucky and Cure Chance in crayon, as if they were drawn by a child.

"Cure Lucky and Cure Chance," Flush began speaking, "two of the legendary warriors, Pretty Cure, fighting against the Greed Empire-deshu." She laid down four more cards to the left of them, each with equally crude drawings of the four competitors. "The four competitors, Coveton, Rapacy, Alvario, and Merak, are trying to become the next Greed Emperor by stealing Fortune Energy from this world-deshu." She moved the cards across the floor, making it look like Lucky and Chance were fighting against the competitors. "They tried, but were beaten back every time-deshu!"

"The competitors didn't have much reason to fight us until now," Nanami commented. She took one of the two remaining cards Flush was holding, depicting a sinister black shadow with glaring red eyes, and placed it above the other cards "With the Greed Emperor placing a bounty on us and the promise of a reward, they're going to be a lot more motivated."

"Then there's Chevalier..." Sachiko said, taking the last card depicting Chevalier and placing it to the right of the Lucky and Chance cards. "She doesn't look like she's with the Greed Empire, but she took one of the map pieces."

"That's right-deshu!" Flush nodded. "The map will only reveal the path to the Fortune Chest when it's fully assembled-deshu. If even one piece is missing, then it won't be useful to anybody-deshu!" The three of them looked at the cards on the floor for a moment, deep in thought.

"...No matter how you look at it, the odds are stacked against us," Nanami finally said. "We have no idea what Chevalier's goal really is, and the enemy is going to come at us stronger than ever."

"There's only one thing to do, then-deshu." Flush reached into her sack, and pulled out a Fortune Module. "We have to find the last Precure-deshu! With all three of you together, I'm sure you'll become much stronger than you are now-deshu!"

"Then it's settled!" Sachiko said, standing up and pumping her fist into the air. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Hold on," Nanami interrupted. "Go _where_? Do you even know who the third Precure is?"

"No problem!" Sachiko turned to Flush. "I bet you already knows who it is, right, Flush?"

"Eh?" Flush was caught off guard. "O-of course I do-deshu! It's, ah... it's, um..." As her eyes darted from side to side, the room was silent for a moment until she finally dropped to her knees and bowed in submission. "...I'm sorry-deshu! I have no idea-deshu!"

" _Ehh!?_ " the girls gasped in shock.

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Like the Burning Sun! Cure Golden Has Arrived!**

The next morning, Sachiko and Nanami met at the school gates. Everyone there was back to their normal behavior, despite the uproar from yesterday. The only ones who weren't their usual selves were the two of them as they crossed the school grounds, their minds still on yesterday's conversation...

* * *

 _~Yesterday~_

"So you don't know who the third Precure is?" Nanami asked Flush.

"It was pure luck that I found you two so quickly-deshu!" Flush said, still prostrating. "I only recently arrived in your world when I saw Coveton summon the Kyoujin in the park-deshu. I thought I was already too late, but then Sachiko showed up, and everything else just happened on its own-deshu."

Wow, talk about a lucky break, then!" Sachiko said, laughing. "My timing ended up being perfect again!"

"This is no laughing matter," Nanami said. "Is there any way we can identify this person?"

"The two of you are immune to having your Fortune Energy taken by the Kyoujins-deshu," Flush explained as she lifted her head, "so whoever the third Precure is will be, too-deshu!"

"Then it's settled!" Sachiko said, pumping her fist into the air again. "We just have to wait until the Greed Empire shows up again and see who's immune!"

"I can't list all the reasons that's a bad idea," Nanami said, shaking her head, "the biggest one being that we would have to let them have their way with the city and the people."

"Oh, right. That..." Sachiko lowered her fist and bowed her head in defeat. "Then what are we supposed to do?"

"Leave it to me-deshu!" Flush said. "The princess entrusted me with finding all three Precure, and that's what I'm going to do-deshu. I'll search the city high and low tomorrow-deshu. I found the two of you quickly, so maybe I'll be lucky a third time-deshu! I'll let you know if I find anything-deshu."

* * *

 _~Present Day~_

"I know she said to let her handle it," Nanami said with a worried look, "but there must be something we can do..." Suddenly, Sachiko's eyes lit up.

"I've got an idea!" Sachiko said excitedly. "Why don't we do our own search? Who knows, maybe the third Precure is right here at school!"

"Hold on," Nanami tried to calm her friend down. "How are you going to know if you have the right person? With no clues, we would just be running about aimlessly."

"Don't worry! I'm sure everything will work out fine in the end, luck will find a way!"

"There you go with that again. You really are hopeless." Nanami sighed and shook her head.

"I wonder what kind of person the third Precure is... I'll bet it's someone smart and kind, like you!" Nanami blushed slightly hearing Sachiko praise her. "What do you think?"

"Let's see... something as important as protecting the world would require someone focused and diligent. Someone like..." Nanami paused when she noticed Sachiko looking at her with an eager look, waiting for her to finish her sentence. "...A-anyway, we'll discuss this later. We can start our search during lunch."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Greed Emperor's casino, the four competitors were seated at the bar, having various drinks in glasses, with the exception of Alvario, who chose to drink from his personal tankard, an oversized container fit for the burly barbarian. The large monitor displayed the current scores in the Rite of Succession:

 **Coveton - 77**

 **Rapacy - 102**

 **Alvario - 48**

 **Merak - 43**

"Grr..." Rapacy growled as she blew bubbles into her drink through a straw.

"Hmhmhm," Merak chuckled to himself. "Exactly as I predicted to myself, you failed quite miserably."

"Oh, please!" Rapacy slapped her hand on the counter, knocking over her glass. "You expect me to believe you knew someone else would show up to get in the way? Nobody could have predicted that, not even you!"

"I predicted that you would fail. In the end, what matters is that I was right."

"Hahah!" Coveton laughed. "I, the mighty Coveton, would've dealt with any obstacle, big or small! This 'Chevalier'... I am eager to cross blades with a fellow swordsman! I'll be the one to-"

" _NO!_ " Alvario suddenly shouted, slamming his tankard down. His sudden outburst startled Coveton, causing him to fall out of his seat and throw his glass into the air. "I ain't lettin' you take my turn, too! I'm goin' this time! You got a problem with that, I'll smash ya!" He got up from his seat, grabbed his haunch of meat, and stomped off. Coveton's glass finally came down, landing upside-down on his pompadour and soaking his hair.

"Good luck," Merak said to Alvario as he left. "...not that I expect you'll do any better. Hmhmhm..." He chuckled again as he was the only one still enjoying his drink.

* * *

As the school bell sounded for lunch, Sachiko and Nanami slipped out of the classroom while the other students enjoyed their meals.

"Operation: Precure Scouting, begin!" Sachiko said in a hushed but excited tone. "Now, for our first target!" She led the way as Nanami followed her outside to the school courtyard. There, they spied a girl with short black hair and round glasses, tending to many bright-colored flowers planted in the raised stone flowerboxes. "Our first candidate is Kinoshita, the head of the gardening club! She always works hard to keep the flowers at the school looking beautiful. And just look at that gentle, serene look on her face. Someone like her must be very kind, too. She'd be a terrific match!"

"I agree that she is devoted to her work," Nanami said, "but as for being kind, well..."

"Over here!" Suddenly, a trio of male students entered the courtyard behind Kinoshita, carrying their lunchboxes with them. "This looks like a good place to chow!" The boys sat down along the edges of one of the flowerboxes, their shadows casting over the flowers. Suddenly, Kinoshita quickly turned around to face them, her eyes filled with rage.

" _YOU!_ What the _heck_ do you think you're doing!?" Kinoshita suddenly screeched at the boys, startling them. "My precious babies need all the sunlight they can get, and you're in the way! Get out of here, go on, get!"

"S-sorry!" the boys shouted as they scrambled away, terrified.

"...Her kindness extends only to the flowers she tends," Nanami explained to Sachiko.

"I see..." Sachiko said, in shock of what she witnessed. "So that didn't work out. Your turn, Nanami! Who do you think would make a good Precure?"

"Me? Well, I can think of one person." This time, Nanami took the lead, guiding Sachiko back inside the school and up the stairs to the third floor, where the classrooms for the third-year students were. They peeked inside one of the rooms, and saw a handsome young man surrounded by several female admirers, all trying to feed him bits of their lunches. "There's no one I know who is more diligent than the student council president. He also possesses a gentle strength, and inspires others to better themselves, among other things, as you can see."

"I see!" Sachiko nodded. "Wait, if it does turn out the student council president is the third Precure, then that means..." An image of the young man wearing the same colorful outfit as Cures Lucky and Chance popped up in her head. "Pfft! Hahahahahaah!" Sachiko began laughing out loud uncontrollably. Her outburst caught the attention of the upperclassmen inside the room as they all stared at her and Nanami.

"Hm? Takamoto?" the student council president recognized Nanami. "What are you doing here? Is there something you need?"

"Ah, no, no there isn't!" Nanami said, flustered. She quickly held Sachiko, still laughing, by her shoulders and ushered her away. "P-please excuse us!"

* * *

Back in front of their own classroom, Nanami breathed a sigh of relief while Sachiko's laughter began to subside.

"That was so embarrassing..." Nanami said, her face a bright red.

"I'm sorry! I just can't get that image out of my head now!" Sachiko continued giggling, clutching her sides. She then suddenly stopped. "Oh! I just remembered something! What about Yuri?"

"Yuri Tachibana?" Nanami was surprised by Sachiko's sudden suggestion.

"She didn't have her Fortune Energy stolen that one time, remember?" Sachiko was referring to the chess tournament that Nanami and Yuri competed in. "So there's a chance she could be the third Precure!"

"That was only because I protected her," Nanami countered. "We don't know for sure if she has the immunity that Flush mentioned."

"But she's hard-working and smart! Plus, with ending up in second place all the time, she must have some kind of special luck like me! She'd be a good match to be the third Precure, don't you think?"

"Hmm..." Nanami closed her eyes, trying to imagine what it would be like if Yuri did become the third Precure.

' _Ooohohoho! Of course I would be a perfect match! After all, I'm the gold standard! Oooohohohoho!_ ' Yuri's haughty voice echoed in Nanami's mind as she quickly shook her head.

"I really think we should look some more before we jump to any conclusions," she said.

"Really? Hmm... where to look next?" Sachiko closed her eyes and began to think.

"What are we looking for?" a voice suddenly asked from behind her.

"We're looking for the third... eek!" Sachiko turned around, then shrieked when she saw Natsuki suddenly standing behind her. "N-N-N-Natsuki!?"

"Heheh, did I surprise you?" Natsuki asked, grinning. "Everyone else was acting weird yesterday, now you're the one acting funny. You're looking for the third what?"

"The third... the th-third...!" Sachiko stammered. "The third... best place to eat lunch!" she said the first thing that came to her mind. "Yeah, you see, we already checked the first and second best places, but they were already taken, so we just have to settle for third! Aha, ahahah..." she laughed nervously, hoping Natsuki would buy her lame excuse.

"But you don't have your lunch with you." Natsuki scratched her head. "Oh yeah, before I forget, I wanted to ask you something. Our team's having a game this afternoon. It'll be my first real game, the moment I've been waiting for!"

"Really? Congratulations, Natsuki! You must be really excited!"

"I am! That's why it would mean a lot to me if you came to watch! You know, if have the time. Sorry to drop it on you so suddenly. I meant to ask you yesterday, but with all the craziness that went on, it slipped my mind."

"Of course!" Sachiko immediately answered. "I'll be there, cheering for you!"

"Great! Thanks a lot, Sachi, I really mean it! See you then!" Natsuki waved as she walked off.

"Wait a minute, Sachiko," Nanami said, "what about our search? Won't Flush be waiting for us?"

* * *

The day continued, until finally the bells marking the end of classes sounded. After helping to clean the classroom, Sachiko and Nanami headed outside and headed for the athletic field.

"I know you really want to support Kinboshi," Nanami said to Sachiko, "so I won't ask you to go back on your word."

"Thank you for understanding, Nanami!" Sachiko said. "I'm sure Flush will understand, t-"

"However!" Nanami cut her off, her tone becoming harsher. "After the game, you should apologize properly to Flush for keeping her waiting."

"Uuu... okay." Sachiko replied meekly. When they got to the field, a decent sized crowd of students had also gathered to watch the game, and the players were in position and ready to start. At the pitcher's mound was Natsuki, who smiled and waved at Sachiko and Nanami briefly. Just then, the girls overheard some of their classmates chatting.

"I heard our team's star pitcher is actually a girl," one of them said. "Is that really true?"

"Yeah, I heard she made a special appeal to the student council, and they approved it," another said back. "I guess we're about to find out if she has what it takes in a real game."

"Play ball!" the umpire shouted. As the first batter stepped up to plate, Natsuki's expression turned serious. Her eyes narrowed, focusing on a single point: the center of the catcher's mitt. In the blink of an eye, she threw the ball as it whizzed past the batter before he even knew what happened. "Strike!" the umpire declared. The ball was tossed back to Natsuki, and again, she made her pitch. The batter saw the ball coming this time, but even so, could not react in time to its speed, and swung too late. "Strike!" the umpire shouted again.

"Is it gonna be a strikeout right off the bat?" someone in the crowd asked. "Kinboshi's on fire!"

"Go, Natsuki!" Sachiko cheered. "Keep it up!"

"I must admit, I'm impressed," Nanami commented. "To be able to pitch the ball with such speed and precision must require a lot of hard work and practice." The batter tightened his grip on his bat, determined to hit the next pitch. He and Natsuki locked gazes, but as Natsuki let loose the ball, Alvario suddenly appeared on the field in front of her, out of nowhere. The ball struck him right in his exposed belly, disappearing in the folds of his skin for a brief moment before shooting back out, into the air and clear out of the field.

"That tickles," Alvario said, scratching his belly.

"That's...!" Sachiko and Nanami gasped, recognizing him immediately.

"Hey, old man!" Natsuki shouted at Alvario. "Where did you come from? We're in the middle of a game here, and you just ruined a perfect pitch! Get off the field!"

"Hm?" Alvario raised an eyebrow. "I can go where I want, when I want!" he bellowed. "If ya got a problem with that, I'll smash ya! Actually, why bother when I can do this!" He held out his hand, and a Kyoujin cube appeared in it. "Your luck has run out! Get out here, Kyoujin!" He held the cube up in the air, and a bolt of black energy shot out of it, striking a nearby pile of baseball equipment. In a burst of darkness, a towering humanoid Kyoujin emerged, made from a combination of the equipment: an umpire's vest and helmet, catcher's mitts for hands, and sharp cleats for feet. In its right hand it held a large metal bat, and a pitching machine was mounted on its left shoulder as a makeshift cannon. A pair of glowing yellow eyes appeared inside the helmet, along with a yellow symbol on its forehead.

" _Kyoujin!_ " The Kyoujin immediately began rampaging, swinging its bat like a club and firing giant baseballs from the cannon. Players on both teams scrambled to avoid getting hit.

"Monster!" the students began screaming. "Run away!" The crowd and the players began to disperse in a panic.

"A monster, just like last time...!" Natsuki gasped, remembering the last time she saw a Kyoujin.

"Not good!" Sachiko said. "We have to protect everyone! Nanami!"

"Right!" Nanami nodded as the two of them ran behind a nearby storage shed. After quickly making sure nobody was looking, they both pulled out their Fortune Modules.

" **Precure! Fortune Wheel Change!** " They pulled down the levers, and in a bright flash of light, the girls transformed.

"The shining light of happiness! Cure Lucky!"

"The tranquil wave of wisdom! Cure Chance!"

"Gahahah! That's right, run, you wimps!" Alvario laughed at the panicking crowd. "You won't get far! Kyoujin, take their Fortune Energy!"

" _Kyoujin!_ " The monster roared as it began glowing with a dark aura.

"Not so fast!" Lucky and Chance shouted. Out of nowhere, the pair flew across the air, kicking the Kyoujin in the stomach in unison. The Kyoujin staggered backwards, the dark aura fading. The sound of the impact caused the fleeing students to stop and turn around to see what just happened.

' _It's those two again!_ ' Natsuki's eyes widened, recognizing Lucky and Chance.

"You're here, Precure!" Alvario shouted. "You just saved me the trouble of findin' you! Now I'll smash you and get that reward! Get 'em, Kyoujin!"

"Precure? So that's what they're called..." Natsuki muttered to herself.

" _Kyoujin!_ " The baseball Kyoujin charged towards Lucky and Chance, swinging its bat at them. They deftly avoided each swing, and Lucky leapt forward when an opening presented itself. She delivered a flurry of punches to the Kyoujin's torso, but its padded vest cushioned the blows as it puffed out its chest, pushing her away.

"It's really tough," Lucky remarked as she landed, skidding backwards.

"We will need more than brute force to stop it," Chance added.

"Who are they?" one of the watching students asked. "They're really strong! Are they superheroes?"

"It's too dangerous here!" Chance shouted at the bystanders. "Keep running!"

"They want to steal your good luck and happiness!" Lucky added. "Get away from here, hurry!"

"Do as they say!" Natsuki also yelled. "Trust me, those two are here to help! Head for the school gates!"

"R-right!" The crowd complied as they continued running. Natsuki remained in the rear, making sure nobody was left behind.

"Kyoujin, don't let 'em get away!" Alvario commanded.

" _Kyoujin!_ " The Kyoujin turned its attention towards the crowd and began chasing after them.

"I won't let you!" Lucky charged at the Kyoujin from behind, hoping to catch it off guard. However, when she got close, it suddenly turned around and struck her with its bat. "Aaahhh!" she screamed out in pain as she was sent crashing into the fence behind home plate. The metal bent around her from the impact, tangling her up in it.

"Hang on!" Chance said, rushing to Lucky's side to pull off the twisted metal.

" _Kyou!_ " The Kyoujin fired another ball towards Chance when her back was turned.

"Chance! Behind you!" Lucky shouted.

"Hmph!" Chance reacted quickly, putting out her hands. She was pushed backwards several yards, but she managed to catch the enormous ball. "You'll have to try harder than that!" She then lifted the ball up, and hurled it back at the Kyoujin.

" _Kyoujin!_ " Suddenly, the Kyoujin took a batting stance, gripping its bat with both hands. It swung, striking the incoming ball and sending back at Chance at an even faster speed. It struck the ground in front of her with explosive force, sending her flying. Hearing the explosion, Natsuki and the fleeing students stopped and turned around.

' _They're getting pounded!_ ' Natsuki thought, looking distressed. ' _If only there was a way I could help...!_ '

"Gahahah!" Alvario laughed. "You should've kept runnin'! Now your Fortune Energy is all mine!"

" _Kyoujin...!_ " The Kyoujin turned towards the crowd and began glowing with a dark aura once more. It then shot out a wave of black energy all around it.

"Everyone! Run for-" As Natsuki turned around, she slipped and lost her footing. The black wave rushed over her and the other students as they all fell to the ground, golden orbs of light leaving their bodies and floating towards the Kyoujin.

"Good work, Kyoujin!" Alvario said as he watched his cube glow brighter. "Now, smash those Precure so I can get my reward! Start with the blue one!"

" _Kyoujin!_ " The monster began stomping towards Chance, who was still on the ground, unconscious. It raised one foot, revealing the sharp, spiked cleats underneath, ready to crush Chance.

"No!" Lucky cried out, finally breaking free from the mangled fence. She dashed to Chance's side and stopped the Kyoujin's spiked foot from coming down on top of her. Though she tried to push back, she could feel her strength slowly dwindling. Just then, in the sky over the school, Flush came hovering down, huffing to herself.

"Of all the rotten luck-deshu!" Flush said. "I looked all over the city and found nothing, and now I sense a Kyoujin-deshu... Ah!" She stopped when she saw the drained people below. "Oh no, they've had their Fortune energy taken-deshu!" She looked ahead and saw Lucky and Chance struggling against the Kyoujin. "And Lucky and Chance are in trouble-deshu! What do I do, what do I do!? ...Hm?" She then noticed one of the fallen people slowly getting back up, and her eyes widened in shock. "I don't believe it-deshu! It's...!"

"Ow, I tripped..." Natsuki grunted as she got back on her feet. As she was getting back up, a faint light around her body faded away. She then noticed the other students on the ground, moaning in misery. "What happened here!?" she gasped.

"Nothing matters anymore..." one of the victims groaned. "We're so unlucky..."

"This must be what she meant by taking their happiness...! This is terrible!"

"Natsuki!" Flush called out to her as she descended. "Up here-deshu!"

"Wah!" Natsuki jumped away from Flush. "That rabbit's talking! And flying!"

"I'm a fairy-deshu! My name is Flush-deshu! There's no time to explain, take this-deshu!" Flush reached into her pouch and pulled out the third Fortune Module. "Use this Fortune Module, and you can transform into Precure and fight-deshu!"

"Precure? You mean like those two?" Natsuki looked behind her. As she saw the Kyoujin bearing down on Lucky and Chance, she angrily clenched her fists. "...That big jerk ruined our game. Not just me, but everyone was looking forward to it! There's no way I'm gonna let them get away with that! I'll do it!" Natsuki took the Fortune Module from Flush.

"Pull the lever and shout, ' _Precure! Fortune Wheel Change!_ '"

"Gotcha! Let's do this! **Precure! Fortune Wheel Change!** " Natsuki pulled the lever on the Fortune Module, and the sections of the screen began to spin. One by one, the reels stopped, forming the image of a yellow circle surrounded by smaller triangles, representing the sun. The image flashed, and streams of golden light poured out of the device, enveloping Natsuki. Her hair grew out, reaching down to the center of her back, and her hair and eyes changed to a bright yellow color. Her hair was tied into a shorter ponytail, with several spiked tufts jutting out. It flowed on its own, as if it were made of fire. Her clothing transformed into an outfit identical to Lucky and Chance's, but with a bright yellow color scheme. The emblems on her gloves, chest, and hair clip were the same as the sun symbol on her Fortune Module.

"The burning sun of passion! Cure Golden!" The transformed Natsuki struck a battle-ready pose, folding one arm in front of her, showing her sun emblem, and her fists tightly clenched. Her stunning appearance caught the attention of the Kyoujin, who pulled its foot away from Lucky, allowing her to help up a now conscious Chance.

"Cure Golden?" Lucky and Chance were startled by her sudden arrival.

"It's Natsuki-deshu!" Flush said to them as she flew to their side. "She was the third Precure all along-deshu!"

" _Eeh!?_ " Lucky and Chance gasped in unison.

"Huh!? Now there's _three_ of you!?" Alvario asked. "Grrrr... doesn't matter! Maybe if I smash three, I'll get an even bigger reward! Kyoujin, make sure you smash her, too!"

" _Kyoujin!_ " The Kyoujin began running towards Cure Golden, raising its bat. It brought it down on top of her, sending out shockwaves and kicking up clouds of dirt. When it cleared up, it was shown that Golden had caught the bat with one hand, stopping it in its tracks.

"Just try it, jerk!" Golden shouted as she pushed the bat away, causing the Kyoujin to stagger back. She then leapt up into the air, and dived down, kicking the Kyoujin in the torso and driving it into the ground before hopping away.

"So strong...!" Lucky remarked.

"Not so fun when you're on the receiving end, huh?" Golden asked, taunting the Kyoujin.

" _Kyoujin!_ " The monster roared, firing balls from its cannon as it got back up. Golden shifted from one place to another, dodging the projectiles with ease before catching the last one in her hands.

"Hah!" Alvario laughed. "That won't work on my Kyoujin!"

"We'll see about that!" Golden retorted. She spun around several times, picking up momentum before hurling the ball at the Kyoujin.

" _Kyou...!_ " The Kyoujin took up a batting position again, but this time, the ball came too fast for it to react, just like Natsuki's pitch during the game. " _Jin!?_ " The ball smashed into the Kyoujin's face, denting the face shield as it fell over again.

"So fast!" Chance also commented. "As expected of an ace pitcher!"

"Cure Golden!" Flush called out to her. "Cleanse the Kyoujin with your power-deshu!"

"Okay!" Golden nodded. She pulled back her fist as it became wrapped in a bright, golden flame. "Hope you're ready to feel the burn! **Precure! Golden Fire Blast!** " She thrust her fist forward, launching the flame. The flames grew bigger, morphing into a giant fist, and struck the Kyoujin, engulfing it.

" _Kyou... jin..._ " The Kyoujin moaned as its body dissipated, releasing the stolen Fortune Energy into the air.

"Grraagh! It was finally my turn, and then _this_ happens!" Alvario growled, shaking his fist. "You'll pay for this!" He then vanished instantly. One of the globes of Fortune Energy floated down in front of Lucky and Chance, bursting open to reveal a map piece.

"Ah, another map piece!" Lucky said, holding out her Fortune Module. She pressed the button on its panel, storing the map piece inside of it.

"Whew, what a rush!" Golden said, taking a deep breath as she approached Lucky, Chance, and Flush. "Now, how about an explanation? What exactly is going on?"

"We'll explain, but not here," Chance answered. "The students are coming to, and if we talk here, it will cause problems." The group decided to leave the school grounds as the victims slowly regained consciousness.

* * *

Arriving in a place with no people around, Lucky, Chance, and Golden all undid their transformations.

"There, now we can explain!" Sachiko said cheerfully.

" _Eh!?_ S, Sachi!?" Natsuki was shocked. "And Nanami, too!?"

"We're just as surprised as you," Nanami said. "We had no idea you were the third Precure we were looking for."

"I knew there was something special about you, but I didn't think _this_ special! So you were the ones who saved me that other time?"

"That's right!" Sachiko nodded. "I'm sorry your game got interrupted. Your big debut got cut short."

"Don't worry too much about it. We can always reschedule it. So... this Precure thing. I'm guessing those guys are going to keep coming back, huh?"

"Afraid so-deshu," Flush said. "That's why we need you to help us protect the city-deshu. Please, Natsuki, lend us your strength-deshu!"

"You don't even need to ask. I can't stand bullies like that buckethead or that oversized thug. You can count on me!"

"Natsuki...!" Sachiko's eyes lit up. She wrapped her arms around Nanami and Natsuki, pulling them in for a group hug. "Our team is complete, then! With the three of us working together, there's nothing we can't do!"

"I'm looking forward to it, Sachi! You too, Nanami!"

"Likewise!" Nanami nodded. As they continued talking, Chevalier was spying on the group from afar, and a smile crossed her lips.

"So they have found the final Precure," she said to herself. "But the true test lies just ahead..." She then vanished in a gust of wind, with the girls unaware of her presence.

* * *

 _Sachiko: Yeah! Natsuki is the third Precure!_

 _Nanami: Now we're all together!_

 _Natsuki: I'm counting on your support, you two!_

 _Sachiko: What do you mean?_

 _Natsuki: Well, I'm going to be the leader, right?_

 _Sachiko: Wait a second, that's not fair! Next time, on Lucky*Pretty Cure!_

 _ **Follow the Leader! Who Will It Be?**_

 _Next time will be super lucky, too!_

* * *

 _ **Coming soon...**_

 _ **Pretty Cure All Stars Next Stage**_


	10. Follow the Leader!

**Lucky*Pretty Cure!**

 **by Exdeathmore**

* * *

Inside Sachiko's room, Sachiko, Nanami, Natsuki, and Flush were all gathered around a small table. Sachiko and Flush were both holding party poppers with eager looks on their faces.

"Ready? One, two...!" Sachiko asked as she and Flush pulled back the strings on their poppers. _POP! POP!_ Confetti and miniature streamers shot into the air and rained down around the room. "The gang's all here! Yay!" She and Flush applauded, and Natsuki sooned joined in.

"Isn't this a little excessive?" Nanami asked, holding out her hand as flakes of confetti landed in her palm.

"Lighten up a little," Natsuki said cheerfully. "This is worth celebrating, isn't it?"

"Absolutely-deshu!" Flush replied. "We finally found all three Precure-deshu! With the three of you around, we have nothing to fear from the Greed Empire-deshu! Cure Lucky, Cure Chance, and Cure Golden: an unbeatable team-deshu!"

"Team, huh? In that case..." Natsuki stood up. "I have a proposal to make. If we're going to be a team, then there's something we need. Something vital!"

"Really?" Sachiko asked. "What's that?"

"Every good team needs a strong leader! Just like in baseball, the team captain rallies the others, spurs them on, and acts as an example to them."

"Hm, hm!" Sachiko nodded. "I like it! I like it a lot!"

"Right? I knew you'd agree, Sachi! Well then, I'll be counting on your support. You too, Nanami!"

"Eh?" Sachiko paused, confused by this statement.

"What do you mean?" Nanami asked.

"Of course, it's..." Natsuki grinned, pointing to herself. "Me! I'm going to be the leader, right?"

" _Eeehhh!?_ " Sachiko and Nanami screamed in unison.

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Follow the Leader! Who Will It Be?**

"...Was it something I said?" Natsuki looked confused at Sachiko and Nanami's shocked reactions.

"Wh-why do you get to be the leader!?" Sachiko stammered.

"Well, because I'm the strongest. You two were having trouble with that Kyoujin from before, weren't you?"

"Oof..." Sachiko plopped down on top of the table. She wanted to say something, but also knew that Natsuki was right.

"I also have a little experience with team-building, being on the baseball team and all," Natsuki continued. "Also, I'm the only one of us who's volunteering, right?"

"I think I would make a good leader, too!" Sachiko sprang to her feet. "I was the first one of us to become Precure, so I have the most experience, and, and...!" She paused, thinking of another good reason.

"And...?" Natuski and Nanami were both curious to hear what Sachiko would say.

"...in action shows, the red one is always the leader!" This answer caused everyone to fall over in disbelief.

"This isn't some television show or anime," Nanami said, sighing.

"And besides, isn't Cure Lucky more pink than red?" Natsuki asked.

"A-anyway," Sachiko said, "I stand by what I said. I think I should be leader, too!"

"Then let's put it to a vote. All in favor of me, raise your hand!" Natsuki raised her hand up, but nobody else did.

"Okay, all in favor of me!" Sachiko raised her hand as Natsuki lowered hers. She turned to Nanami and Flush, who continued to keep their hands down. "Nanami?"

"I abstain," Nanami said with a straight face. "You two will have to settle this yourselves."

"I'm with Nanami-deshu," Flush said, hovering next to her. "We won't play favorites-deshu!"

"Betrayed by my best friend, uuu..." Sachiko dramatically wept. "How are we going to decide who gets to be leader?"

"Hmm..." Natsuki and Sachiko closed their eyes, thinking to themselves. After a moment, Natsuki opened her eyes and snapped her fingers. "I got it!" she said. "We'll have a contest!"

"A contest?" Sachiko asked. "Okay, let's do it! I won't lose!"

"Me neither!" Natsuki said as her gaze met Sachiko's.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Nanami said as Sachiko and Natsuki were getting fired up.

"Ahh, just when the team was together, it's already divided-deshu..." Flush sighed.

* * *

The mood in the Greed Empire casino was even more dour than before, with the four competitors lined up before the Emperor's servant, the monitor behind him displaying the current score of the Rite of Succession:

 **Coveton - 77**

 **Rapacy - 102**

 **Alvario - 83**

 **Merak - 43**

"And now there's three of them," Merak said, attempting to lighten the mood. "Anyone care to wager if there's a fourth waiting in the wings? A fifth? Six would be quite the stretch."

"This is a very serious matter," the Emperor's servant said. "You four could not even deal with two Precure, and now a third has appeared. Perhaps this task is beyond you, or perhaps you have forgotten why each of you are here?"

"Of course not," Rapacy objected, pulling on her whip. "I won't rest until everyone bows down to me as Empress and gives me the respect I deserve!"

"I want all the treasure and food you got stashed here," Alvario said, "and I'll smash anyone and anything to get it!" He cracked his knuckles loudly.

"My interests are in the knowledge locked away in the Empire's library, and those ancient secrets _will_ be mine," Merak said, clenching his fist.

"I'm going to become the most powerful warrior and dominate the battlefield," Coveton proclaimed. "It doesn't matter if there's three Precure or ten of them, I, the mighty Coveton, shall claim victory in the end! Haaahahah!" He laughed boisterously, hands on his hips and chest puffed out.

"Bold words," the servant said, "but words mean nothing without action." He held out a Kyoujin cube with a red symbol, indicating it was meant for Coveton. "Prove that fortune favors you by robbing others of theirs."

"With pleasure!" Coveton took the cube and marched out of the casino.

* * *

Back in Jizen City, the girls and Flush were gathered at the park, in front of the statue. There were plenty of people in the area, either relaxing or passing through.

"Okay," Natsuki said, "this is a good place to start the contest."

"Why did we have to come to the park?" Flush asked.

"Because there's lots of people around here, and that's the important part. Being Precure means helping people out, right?"

"Right!" Sachiko nodded. "Helping people is always important!"

"Then why not let that be the contest? Whoever can help the most people today wins."

"That's perfect! Helping people is what I do best! This contest is as good as mine!"

"Don't be too sure, Sachi. I'll show you my burning passion, and give you a run for your money!" The air around Sachiko and Natsuki appeared to be heating up as Nanami and Flush stood on the sidelines watching.

"They're getting motivated again-deshu," Flush commented.

"I've never seen Sachiko like this before," Nanami added. "I guess Natsuki's energy is rubbing off on her, or maybe it's because her pride of being helpful to others is being challenged. This could be a good or bad thing. Either way, we should keep a close eye on them."

"Great idea, Nanami!" Natsuki said, overhearing her. "You and Flush can be the judges and keep count."

"That wasn't what I was-" Just then, they could hear the sound of a child crying. They looked towards the direction of the source and saw a little girl sobbing under a tall tree. The group ran over to the girl.

"What's wrong?" Sachiko asked the girl. "Why are you crying?"

"My balloon..." The girl replied, pointing up at the tree. In its branches, a bright red balloon was caught by its string.

"Don't worry," Natsuki said to the girl, "I'll get it for you!" She took several steps away from the tree, then broke into a dash towards it. Using her momentum, she was able to push herself upwards a good distance using her feet alone before springing off the trunk and grabbing on to the branch the balloon was stuck to. After pulling the balloon free, she let go of the branch and landed in front of the girl. "Here you go," Natsuki said with a smile as she handed the girl her balloon.

"Ah, thank you!" the girl said happily. "Thank you so much!" She waved goodbye to Natsuki as she skipped away with her balloon.

"Score one for me," Natsuki said to Sachiko. "Beat that!"

"Oh, I will!" Sachiko retorted. She looked around the park for anyone who might be in need of help. "Umm, let's see... no..." However, she couldn't see anyone who needed helping.

"Look out!" a voice shouted out.

"Eh?" Sachiko looked towards the direction the voice came from to see a soccer ball bouncing straight towards her at high speed. The ball struck her right in the face, causing her to stumble back and fall down. As she fell, the ball rolled away from her a bit before coming to a stop.

"Sachiko!" Nanami called out to her as she and Flush immediately rushed to her side.

"Sachi!" Natuski also came to Sachiko's aid, trying to pull her back to her feet.

"Ow...!" Sachiko groaned, her face red from the impact. She was trying hard to hold back the tears from the stinging pain.

"Are you okay!?" came the voice from before. It belonged to a young boy, and he along with several other boys his age approached the girls. "The ball got away from us! I'm real sorry about that!"

"D, don't worry about it..." Sachiko managed to squeak out, trying to keep a straight face.

"Still, if you weren't there, the ball would've rolled right into the river!" The boy pointed behind Sachiko, which was a clear path towards an incline leading to the river the park overlooked. "Thanks a lot, you really helped out!"

"R-really?" Sachiko suddenly regained her composure and cheerfulness. "I'm just glad to help!"

"Thanks again!" The boy picked up the ball as he and the other children went back to playing.

"Super lucky!" Sachiko cheered. "Now we're tied! Ow..." She then cringed a little, still in pain.

"Do these kind of things always happen with you?" Natsuki asked Sachiko. "I'm beginning to wonder if your luck is impressive or scary..."

"Maybe you should stop-deshu," Flush said. "If this is how you're going to help people-deshu..."

"The day might end with you in the hospital," Nanami finished.

"I can't stop now, Nanami!" Sachiko objected. "I know I can win, luck will find a way to make it happen!"

"Then let's keep going!" Natsuki said, egging her on. "The day's still young, and there's a whole city of people in need!"

"Yeah!" The two of them cheered in unison.

* * *

Sachiko and Natsuki's search for more troubled people continued deeper into the city, with both of them watching every person they passed. Meanwhile, Nanami and Flush continued to keep watch over them. As they approached a crosswalk, they noticed an elderly lady carrying a large bag of groceries on her own pressing the button for the traffic signal. Before Natsuki could react, Sachiko approached the lady.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Sachiko said gently, "do you need help crossing the street?"

"Oh my, how kind of you to offer," the lady replied. "I wouldn't want to trouble you, though."

"It's no trouble at all! I can hold that bag for you!"

"Oh, thank you. My shoulder was getting a bit sore, now that you mention it." The elderly lady handed Sachiko her bag as the signal changed. Sachiko took one of the lady's hands and slowly guided her across the road.

"Tch, she beat me to it," Natsuki said. Just then, she noticed an older man carrying a large pack on his back approaching the crosswalk, and quickly ran up to him. "Excuse me, do you need a hand with that?" she asked.

"That's nice of you to offer," the old man said. "My back is getting all stiff from carrying this. Are you sure you can carry it?"

"No problem! I'm stronger than I look!" The old man put the pack on the ground as Natsuki strapped it to herself, and the two began crossing the street. On the other side, Sachiko noticed this, and was determined to break the stalemate once more. She then spotted a middle-aged man in an expensive-looking suit approaching.

"Do you need help crossing the street, sir?" Sachiko asked him.

"No, that's alright," the man replied, "I can cross myself."

"Don't be silly! What if you tripped and messed up that nice-looking suit? You never know what could happen! If it does, I'd be here to keep you from falling!"

"Well, when you put it that way... I guess it wouldn't hurt." Sachiko took the man by the hand and guided him back across the road. Meanwhile, as Natsuki finished crossing the street with the old man and giving him his pack back, she spotted another man passing by, watching the scene.

"How about you?" Natsuki asked the third man. "You look like you could use a hand crossing."

"But, I don't need to cross the street," he replied.

"Of course you do, no need to be shy! Come on, I insist!" Natsuki ran up to him and grabbed his hand, pulling him along the street. The pattern of offering, persuading, insisting, and guiding people across the street continued, with Sachiko and Natsuki exchanging glances every time they passed each other.

"I think this is starting to get out of hand-deshu..." Flush commented.

"Their 'helping people' contest has turned into a 'helping people cross the street' contest..." Nanami said.

"Oh, Nanami, fancy meeting you here," a familiar voice called to her. Nanami turned around to see Mr. Ogata, and Flush immediately froze in place, clinging to Nanami's arm and hoping she wasn't heard. "Out for a walk by yourself?" he asked.

"Unfortunately, no," Nanami answered. She pointed towards the crosswalk, where Sachiko and Natsuki were still helping ferry people across the street.

"I see Sachiko, but who's that other young lady, and what are they doing?" Ogata scratched his head in confusion.

"That's Natsuki, a new friend from school," Nanami explained, "and they're competing to see who can help the most people."

"I see. Helping others is good," Ogata said, "but I hope those two don't lose sight of what's more important. Well, have fun, you three!" He continued on his way, waving goodbye to Nanami. Nanami waved back, as she turned her attention back to Sachiko and Nanami, who were still helping people cross the street and bringing traffic to a standstill.

"They really are hopeless," she said, letting out a heavy sigh and shaking her head.

* * *

On an open field by the river, Coveton was standing alone, gazing at the water, seemingly deep in thought.

"Hmm..." He rubbed one end of his pointy mustache between his fingers. "It's not enough to just defeat Precure... I need something to make the victory more satisfying. Something like... a dramatic monologue! No... A powerful pose to strike as I stand over the vanquished! Yes! The kind of powerful pose people will want to take photos of!" Just then, he heard a beeping sound, followed by a click. He looked in the direction of the sound, and saw a family of three - a father, mother, and son - taking photos together.

"Okay, all set!" the father said as he finished propping up a camera on a tripod. He pressed a button on the camera, and quickly joined his family. "Ready? One, two... chee-" Just as the family was posing for the photo, Coveton suddenly slid inbetween them and the camera, and struck a pose of his own as the shutter clicked.

"Perfect! Ahahahah!" Coveton laughed.

"Hey you!" the father shouted at him. "What do you think you're doing? You just ruined a perfect shot!"

"Wrong! I, the mighty Coveton, have generously given you the gift of my glorious guise! Besides, that should be the least of your worries. After all, your day is about to get a lot more unlucky!" Coveton held out his hand, and his Kyoujin cube appeared. "Your luck has run out! Come out, Kyoujin!" Black lightning shot out of the cube and struck the camera. In a burst of dark energy, the camera and tripod were transformed into a Kyoujin, appearing to be an enlarged version with arms, and a red symbol above the lens. The lens acted as a single eye, adjusting itself back and forth.

" _Kyoujin!_ " the monster bellowed, looking at the terrified family. " _Cheese!_ " It pressed the shutter button, emitting a bright flash. As the light faded, the family fell over, moaning and weeping as globes of Fortune Energy left them and entered the Kyoujin.

"Onward, Kyoujin! This battlefield shall be dominated by me, the mighty Coveton! Haaahahah!" Coveton let out his usual haughty laugh as the Kyoujin scuttled ahead on its tripod legs like a spider, towards the city proper.

" _Cheese! Cheese! Cheese!_ " the Kyoujin repeated as it snapped more pictures at everyone it passed, draining their Fortune Energy as well.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sachiko and the others continued to stroll down the city streets, taking a short break from their contest.

"So, what's the score?" Natsuki asked. "I counted about fifteen people I helped! You know, before the officer told us to leave..."

"I got fifteen, too!" Sachiko replied.

"So we're tied again. There's gotta be some way to break it..." Just then, someone let out a scream nearby. They saw a crowd of scared people fleeing from Coveton and the camera Kyoujin, which were making their way towards the girls.

"A Kyoujin!" Nanami gasped.

"That's it!" Natsuki said, snapping her fingers again. "This'll be our tiebreaker! Whoever beats that Kyoujin first will be the leader, okay?" Natsuki pulled out her Fortune Module.

"You're still worried about that? There's more important things to worry about now than-"

"Okay! I'm still not gonna lose!" Sachiko interrupted as she pulled out her Fortune Module as well. Nanami only sighed in disappointment as she did the same.

" **Precure! Fortune Wheel Change!** " The girls shouted out as they pulled down the levers of their Fortune Modules. In a bright flash of light, they transformed.

"The shining light of happiness! Cure Lucky!"

"The gentle wave of wisdom! Cure Chance!"

"The burning sun of passion! Cure Golden!"

"You're here, Precure!" Coveton pointed at them. "I, the mighty Coveton, will finally defeat you and claim that bounty! Attack, Kyoujin!"

"I'm going ahead!" Golden said as she charged towards the Kyoujin.

"Ah, wait for me!" Lucky said as she followed closely behind.

"Wait, you two!" Chance called out to them. "You shouldn't rush in without a plan!"

" _Cheese!_ " the Kyoujin said as it pressed its shutter button, emitting a blinding flash of light.

"Too bright!" Lucky and Golden said as they were forced to shut their eyes.

" _Kyoujin!_ " The Kyoujin galloped straight towards them, striking both Lucky and Golden with each arm in a clothesline attack. As they were knocked away, the Kyoujin continued to charge towards Chance, pulling back its fist. Chance raised her arms in front of her, blocking the monster's punch, and was pushed back. The two began exchanging punches, each impact cancelling each other out.

"Hah!" Chance threw a harder punch, causing the Kyoujin to stagger back. She then crouched down, attempting to trip it with a sweeping kick, but the Kyoujin leapt up, landing on the side of a nearby building and sticking to it. It turned to face Chance, and the lens shaft shot out, attempting to ram her. Chance hopped to the side to avoid it. The shaft retracted, then repeatedly shot out again, forcing Chance to go on the defensive. "It's fast!" Chance said. "I can't find an opening!"

"Don't worry, Chance, I got it!" Lucky said as she came flying towards the Kyoujin.

"No, I got it!" Golden said as she did the same from a different direction.

" _Kyoujin!_ " The Kyoujin leapt away, causing Lucky and Golden to crash into each other face first, then plummet to the ground. Chance could only sigh again as she slapped her forehead.

"They're not working together at all-deshu!" Flush said.

"Haahahah!" Coveton laughed as the Kyoujin landed beside him. "Looks like you're off your game today, Precure! Maybe you were better off when there was only two of you!"

"Oh yeah?" Golden asked as she got up, her right fist becoming wrapped in flames.

"We'll show you!" Lucky said as her bow of light appeared.

"Oh, no..." Chance murmured, already predicting what would happen next.

" **Precure! Golden Fire Blast!** " Golden threw out her fist, launching a ball of flame at the Kyoujin.

" **Precure! Lucky Arrow Shooter!** " Lucky fired an arrow at the Kyoujin at the exact same time. As the two projectiles got closer to the Kyoujin, they collided, causing them to bounce off each other and fly off in other directions, missing their target completely.

"Waaahahahah! How pathetic!" Coveton began laughing louder and harder. "Hardly a challenge for the mighty Coveton!"

" _Kyou, kyou, kyou!_ " Even the Kyoujin was laughing at Lucky and Golden, clutching its sides.

"Grr...!" Lucky and Golden growled. "One more time!" They prepared to launch their attacks again.

" _Stoooop!_ " Chance screamed, jumping in front of Lucky and Golden, arms spread. "I've stood aside until now hoping you would work this out on your own, but this has to stop! If this continues, it won't matter who gets to be leader, because there won't be a team left to lead, or a city left to protect!" Lucky and Golden were surprised by her sudden outburst, but her words finally sank in for both of them.

"...You're right," Golden said, looking down. "I was so caught up in competing and proving myself, I forgot what was really important." She turned to Lucky. "I'm sorry, Lucky. I got carried away with this whole leader thing, and caused a bit of a mess."

"I should apologize, too," Lucky said. "I got caught up, too, and I was acting pretty childish myself. I guess we aren't cut out to be good leaders. If anything, Chance should be the leader. She was the one who didn't let herself get caught up in this."

"Yeah, I agree!" Golden nodded.

"Hold it!" Chance held up her hand. She then shook her head, clearly rejecting their proposal. "A good team doesn't always need to have a leader," she said to them.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Lucky and Golden asked.

" _All for one, and one for all._ It's a vow made by the heroes in the book, 'The Three Musketeers'. It means that the group supports each member, and each member supports the group, with no one placed above the others. There are things that Lucky can do that Golden can't, and there are things that Golden can do that I can't, and so on. We're all in this fight together, and if we complement each other's strengths, we can overcome any obstacle." Lucky and Golden were humbled by Chance's insight.

"When you put it that way," Golden said, "it makes a lot more sense. It's just like with baseball: no one person can do everything by themselves, that's why they need good teammates they can rely on and support."

"We don't need a team leader to guide us," Lucky added, "because we're all in this together, like Chance said. All for one, and one for all! ...Wait, that's it!" An idea sparked in Lucky's mind. "Time out!" she said to Coveton.

"What? Who calls a time out in the middle of a battle?" Coveton asked.

"Well, what kind of mighty warrior attacks an unprepared opponent? I thought you wanted to prove you're the strongest?"

"Grr... you have a point. Fine, just make it quick!" Coveton crossed his arms, tapping his foot impatiently. Lucky then beckoned Chance and Golden to come closer as they huddled and began whispering to them.

"Oh, that's a great idea!" Golden said with a big grin after hearing what Lucky had to say.

"I agree," Chance nodded and smiled. "It's actually very nice."

"Then let's do it!" Lucky said as she and the others broke out of their huddle. "Ready? One, two...!" The three Cures each held out their right hands toward a single point, the emblems on their gloves pointing upward.

" _ **On these emblems, we vow,**_ " they said in perfect unison as they raised their right arms into the air. " _ **Fortune for All! Lucky Pretty Cure!**_ " They then struck a powerful pose together, with Lucky in the middle and Chance and Golden to her right and left, each of them flashing the emblems on one of their arms.

"Ahh!" Coveton gasped. "Group poses!? S, so bright... and powerful...!" He was taken aback by their radiance for a moment.

" _K, Kyoujin...!_ " The Kyoujin was also impressed as its shutter clicked several times, taking pictures of the group.

"Ah, this is no time to be intimidated!" Coveton shook his head, regaining his composure. "Time out is over! Kyoujin, hurry up and finish them!"

" _Kyoujin!_ " The monster began to charge again.

"Leave this to me!" Golden said. Lucky and Chance nodded and jumped back as Golden and the Kyoujin clashed. After exchanging blows several times, the Kyoujin hopped back.

" _Cheese!_ " The Kyoujin pressed its shutter button, creating another blinding flash. This time, however, Golden closed her eyes before the flash, and quickly opened them as the light faded.

"The same trick won't work twice!" Golden moved in for a sweeping kick. As before, the Kyoujin leapt up into the air.

"That goes for us, too!" Coveton shouted.

"Are you sure about that?" Golden grinned as she looked up.

"Hm?" Coveton looked up as well, and spotted Chance high above the Kyoujin. "When did she-!?"

"Got you!" Chance shouted. It looked up to see her flipping downwards, delivering a forward somersault kick to its face. The force of the kick caused the Kyoujin's face to cave in a bit before sending it plummeting back down. "Golden!" she called out to her.

"On it!" Golden grabbed the Kyoujin by its legs, and began spinning around. "Haaaahhh!" The spinning became faster and faster, until the pair appeared as a blurred tornado. Golden finally released her grip, causing the Kyoujin to go flying down the street. "Lucky!"

"Here's payback for before!" Lucky shouted as she came barreling down the same street on the opposite end, her right arm extended. The two collided, with Lucky landing a powerful lariat on the Kyoujin. She continued past as the Kyoujin spun in place before crashing to the ground. Lucky skidded to a stop beside Golden as Chance landed in front of them.

"All yours, Chance!" Lucky and Golden said to her. Chance nodded as she faced the downed Kyoujin.

" **Precure! Chance Crystal Cascade!** " Chance held out her arms as waves of water shot forth. The waves rushed across the ground and surrounded the Kyoujin, and burst upwards. The Kyoujin was lifted into the air and wrapped in a jewel-shaped cage of ice.

" _Kyou... jin..._ " The creature moaned. The jewel cage glowed brightly, then vanished, along with the Kyoujin, dispersing into a shower of small golden lights.

"Kah, lost again!" Coveton shouted, stomping his foot. "Not only that, but that group pose... was kind of cool... Argh! I'll remember this, Precure! I'll come up with an even cooler pose than you!" He then vanished in an instant.

"I'm glad that's over," Chance said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Good work, you three-deshu!" Flush said as she flew over to them. "That's the teamwork I expected to see from the legendary warriors-deshu!"

"Hm, aren't we forgetting something?" Golden asked.

"Ah, you're right!" Lucky gasped. "Where's the map piece?"

"Looking for this?" came a familiar voice. The group looked around until they noticed Chevalier standing atop a nearby lamp post, with the map piece tucked between her fingers.

"I wanted to congratulate you on completing your team," Chevalier said. "It would also seem that you have overcome your first major hurdle as such. However, you still have much to learn."

"Are you planning to take that map piece, too?" Chance asked her, preparing herself for a confrontation.

"No," Chevalier shook her head before leaping down from the lamp post. "Today was your victory. You have earned this map piece through your own efforts. Take it." She walked up to the Cures, and flicked the map piece towards Lucky. Lucky pulled out her Fortune Module and stored the map piece inside.

"Chevalier, are you a friend or an enemy?" Lucky asked. "You're don't seem to be working with the Greed Empire, but you're keeping us from finding the Fortune Chest, too. What is your goal?"

"I simply do as I will. Whether you see me as friend or foe is entirely up to you." Chevalier stepped away from the group. "Become even stronger, strong enough to uncover the truth. Until then, I will hold on to that other map piece. Farewell!" With a gentle smile and a swing of her blade, a powerful gust rushed forth, forcing the Cures to shield their eyes. When the air calmed, they opened their eyes to see that Chevalier had vanished.

"She's gone-deshu," Flush said. "Just who is that Chevalier, really? Something about her rubs me the wrong way-deshu..." The girls undid their transformations, and as the globes of Fortune Energy continued to fall, a larger one floated in front of them and burst open.

"What's this?" Nanami asked as she grabbed the object that fell out of the globe. It was one of the photos taken by the camera Kyoujin, of Chance and the others striking their group pose.

"Super lucky!" Sachiko exclaimed. "A memento of our first ever team-up!"

"We did come up with a cool pose," Natsuki said, smiling. "So, who gets to keep it?"

"Of course, it's..." Sachiko paused as she and Natsuki locked eyes, just like when this entire ordeal started.

"Not again..." Nanami sighed. After a moment, Sachiko and Natsuki smiled and started laughing.

"Just kidding!" they said together, much to Nanami's relief as she and Flush also joined in the laughter.

* * *

 _Flush: Sachiko, you dummy-deshu! I'm leaving-deshu! Goodbye-deshu!_

 _Sachiko: Flush, wait, come back!_

 _Natsuki: What happened? Did you two have a fight?_

 _Sachiko: I can't say, it's too painful!_

 _Nanami: Anyway, we need to find Flush, and fast!_

 _Sachiko: Next time, on Lucky*Pretty Cure!_

 _ **Flush Search and Rescue-deshu!**_

 _Next time will be super lucky, too!_

* * *

 **Preview: Pretty Cure All Stars Next Stage**

 _Sachiko and her friends win tickets to the grand opening of a new amusement park, Clover World! The girls are ready to have a great time, but a dark shadow is looming... Monsters from the past emerge from the darkness and begin wreaking havoc! This fight may be too much for the Lucky Precure team to handle, but luckily, they won't have to face it alone! With help from the Suite Precure, Smile Precure, and Doki Doki Precure teams, they'll fight off the monsters, stop the source of the problem, and bring back everyone's happiness and good fortunes!_

 _The following is an excerpt from the upcoming story. I hope you enjoy the sneak peek!_

"Nanami! Natsuki! Flush! Where are yooouuu!?" Sachiko called out for her friends, looking everywhere except in front of her. She bumped into something or someone, and fell backwards. "Ow! Owww..." she groaned.

"Are you okay?" a friendly sounding voice asked her. Sachiko looked up to see someone offering their hand to her. The sun was shining behind the person, making it hard to see their face at first.

"I-I'm sorry!" Sachiko quickly apologized. "I wasn't looking where I was going, and-" Her eyes adjusted, and saw the person in front of her was a girl about her age, with magenta hair and eyes similar to her own. The mysterious girl grabbed both of Sachiko's hands and pulled her up to her feet.

"I don't see any bruises. Thank goodness," the girl said, smiling. "Nice to meet you. I'm the Student Council President of Oogai First Middle School, Mana Aida!" She then began shaking Sachiko's hand. "Once we shake hands, we're friends. What's your name?"

"Eh? Oh, I'm Sachiko. Sachiko Yoshimura. It's nice to meet you too."

"Sachiko? That's a really nice name. You should be more careful. You wouldn't want to hurt yourself and miss out on any of the fun at the park, right?"

"Mana! What's taking so long?" another voice called out to her. Sachiko and Mana turned to see Rikka, Alice, Makoto, and Aguri approaching them, with Aguri carrying Ai in her arms.

"Ah, sorry!" Mana apologized. "I was helping Sachiko here, and-"

"If you stop to help every single person on the way," Rikka interrupted, "we'll be here all day. Aguri's starting to get bored waiting."

"I am not!" Aguri objected. "I can wait a little longer, I'm not some impatient little kid."

"That isn't what you said earlier," Alice remarked. "You said something to the effect of, 'I want to hurry and get on a ride before the lines get too long!', didn't you?"

"A-Alice! You didn't have to say that out loud, especially in front of a stranger!" Aguri blushed while the others giggled.

"Let me make some introductions," Mana said. "Everyone, this is Sachiko. Sachiko, these are my best friends, Rikka, Alice, Aguri, and-"

"Ooh!" Sachiko gasped. She quickly ran up to Makoto, her eyes sparkling. "You're Makoto Kenzaki! I'm a really big fan! I own all your albums at home, and I've watched all of your performances on TV! I absolutely _love_ your singing!"

"Thank you very much," Makoto said with a smile. "It's always nice to meet another fan."

"This is super, _super_ lucky! I got to meet MakoPi in person! I wish I had something for you to autograph! If only Nanami and Natsuki were he- ah!" Sachiko froze. "This is no time to get distracted! I have to find my friends!"

"Did something happen?" Mana asked.

"Well, it's a little embarrassing, but..." Sachiko explained her situation to Mana and the others.

"Separated from your friends, and now you're lost in the park?" Alice asked. "That is quite the predicament."

"Then there's only one thing to do about it," Mana said. "We'll help you find your friends!"

"Mana, did you already forget what I just said?" Rikka asked.

"Th, that's alright, really!" Sachiko said, shaking her head and waving her hands in front of her. "I couldn't ask you to get involved in my problems!"

"Remember what I said?" Mana asked. "We're friends now, and friends help each other out, right?" Hearing those words and seeing her sincere smile, Sachiko strangely felt her worries melt away.

"You're always like this," Rikka said to Mana. "You really are hopeless." She sighed and shook her head. Seeing this gave Sachiko a sense of deja vu as she began laughing out loud. "Hm? What's so funny?"

"I'm sorry, it's just...!" Sachiko tried to get her laughter under control. "My friend Nanami says the same thing about me. I bet that you two would get along great!"

"Is that so? Well, maybe we _should_ find your friends so you can introduce us." Rikka finally smiled after all her earlier fretting.

"Right!" Sachiko nodded.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** It's been a long time since my last update. I apologize for the sudden hiatus, but my life has gotten a lot busier since I started working, and I haven't had a lot of time to do all the things I used to. I haven't given up on this story yet, I'll just be writing it at a slower pace now. I'm also working on the All Stars story, which will be standalone and optional to read with this story.


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